Artemis Fowl and the Fowled Fates
by Slayer6
Summary: AUXover, Part of my NG:Goddess series, Artemis Fowl, genius and criminal mastermind and his encounters with a Goddess
1. Prologue

Basically this is a part of my little AU world. I think you'll understand most of it even if you haven't read anything else I've done.

If you don't then I guess you'll just have to read the other fics, even though this technically post-dates them at the beginning.

I have monkeyed with the Artemis Fowl timeline a bit. This fic begins between 'The Artic Incident' and 'The Eternity Code'. The rest of the fic will be post Opal Deception. By my estimation, the four Artemis Fowl books cover roughly two years or so.

Expect long periods of nothing…………Work sucks…..

I don't own Eva.

I don't own Ah my Goddess.

I don't own Artemis Fowl.

I don't own anything in this story.

That's the last time I'll type that this fic.

A Neon Genesis: Goddess Fic

Artemis Fowl and the Fowled Fates

Prologue

2006 (Post –The Artic Incident, Pre – The Eternity Code, Pre - Neon Genesis Goddess)

A dull roar was the first thing to reach the girl's ears as she awoke, her body lay on a hard metallic floor. With a moan, she sat up and looked around. Her blue eyes widened as she discovered she was in a kennel, like one a dog might be held in. Looking through the bars, she saw a heavy padlock would prevent the door from opening.

Looking beyond the lock, she discovered she was in the cabin of an airplane. That explained the roar filling her ears. She leaned against the wall of the kennel to look out the nearest window.

Clouds floated past.

The airplane was flying.

With her in it.

The door to the cockpit then slammed open. An unshaven man exited and headed towards her. She quickly moved back to the far end of the kennel. The man knelt down and peered into the kennel at her.

"Awake eh?" he said, "Well we'll just have to correct that."

He walked out of view past the kennel. The sounds of banging and the tinkling of glass reached her ears. When he came back into view, he was holding a syringe.

"Comere sweetheart," he said, "Just a little prick and then a nice nap."

The girl shook her head and stayed as far from the door as she could.

"Dammit girl!" he growled, "I intend to make a lot of money off of you. Now get over here!"

The girl again shook her head.

The man stood up and stomped out of view. Suddenly the kennel lurched as the back end was lifted up. The girl squealed as she slid from the back towards the front of the cage. The kennel then dropped, stunning her for a moment. The man used that moment to stick the needle into her while she was against the kennel door.

The girl let out a cry of pain and quickly moved back to the rear of the kennel, but the drug was already taking hold.

"That's it." The man said, "Go to sleep. In a few hours, we'll find out just what a person will pay for a real live Goddess."

Five year old Sayoko Morisato, the goddess in question, was unable to reply as darkness claimed her.


	2. Chapter 1

Much of what is contained in the following file was compiled years after the incident. Indeed, to fully understand the circumstances surrounding the incident as well as the relationship between the parties involved, We had to go almost twenty five years into the past. 

_Even then, the story would go back further by almost one thousand years. For the purposes of this file, I will condense this history._

_Magic has existed since the beginning._

_What few realize is there are many different types of magic._

_We shall cover only two here/_

_Fairy magic, and what we shall call 'Deity' magic._

_Fairy magic is present in all pixies, dwarves, elves, sprites, etc._

'_Deity' magic can only be found in one source, the Gods and the Demons._

_Of these, 'Deity' magic is by far the strongest._

_Until recently, the existence of the Gods had been all but forgotten by the average Fairy. Much of this is because of the rift that occurred between Fairy and God so long ago. The exact nature of the rift has since been forgotten. What is known is the disagreement involved the mud men becoming even more dominate on the surface, while the fairy was forced to move underground. The Mud Men spread across the Earth, destroying and polluting the environment as they went. The Gods did not stop this, much to the Fairies annoyance. Communications became strained before finally they were broken off all together. Even to this day, a grudge is still held by both sides._

_So how could the events in the following file take place?_

_It took a young mud man: Artemis Fowl, one who has been considered as Public Enemy #1 to the People_

_a fairy: Holly Short, an elf that, in the beginning, had a promising career until her encounters with Fowl._

_and a Goddess: Sayoko Morisato, Goddess of the Present, a child of Mud Man and Goddess, a young Goddess, she seems 'untainted' from the grudge that many in Heaven have against the People, despite some the grudges some fairies hold against her._

_It began much the same way as the Fowl incident began…….._

……_..with a kidnapping._

_- Prof J. Argon, Brotherhood of Psychologists_

Commissioned by the Lower Elements Police 

Chapter 1

Nekomi, Japan.

Two days ago.

A loud crash caused Skuld's eyes to snap open. She slowly sat up from her futon and looked around through sleep heavy eyes. Sunlight streamed into the twenty-year old's room, lighting up her various machines, electronics, and clothes that lay scattered on both floor and table.

With a sigh, Skuld stood up and grabbed her robe. She then started towards her door. Almost as quickly she yelped and fell back down on her bed. She rubbed her foot, glaring at the small capacitor that had jabbed its way into her. She grabbed her slippers, grumbling to herself about being such a slob.

She exited her room and shuffled down the hall. She moved past two other doors, barely glancing at the first, while pausing slightly at the second. The sign 'Everybody's Tea Room' marked that door.

Skuld continued down the hall and walked through the dining room into the kitchen. There, she found her niece, Sayoko, still in pajamas holding her teddy bear, looking down at a broken plate.

"What happened Yoko?" Skuld asked.

Sayoko whirled around and looked up at her aunt with her blue eyes. For a brief moment, Skuld was reminded of her lost sister.

"The plate jumped Auntie!" Sayoko said, pointing at the broken china accusingly.

Skuld raised an eyebrow at her niece.

"Did it?"

Sayoko looked at her feet nervously.

"Yes." The girl said, drawing out the word.

Skuld's eyes narrowed.

"Remember what your mother told you about Goddesses and the truth?"

Sayoko shifted her feet slightly.

"Yes Auntie."

"And?"

Sayoko looked up.

"I wanted to make breakfast."

"You're too young to do that on your own." Skuld said, "You need a grown-up."

"I'm five!" Sayoko declared.

"Yes you are Yoko, but still too young to make breakfast on your own." Skuld then looked over at the counter to see a large frozen circular object sitting there. "Pizza for breakfast?"

"Yes!" Sayoko replied, nodding her head.

"Eww!" Skuld picked up the pizza and put it back in the freezer. "No pizza for breakfast!"

"Ice cream?"

"No!" Skuld replied.

"But you ate it before for breakfast."

Skuld paused for a moment. "That was different. You need healthy food! Like granola, cheerios, milk, toast, fru…."

"Pop tarts?"

"No!" Skuld walked over to a closet and pulled out a broom and dustpan. She walked back over to the broken plate. "Why don't you and Mr. Bear go watch cartoons while I make breakfast ok?"

"Ok Auntie." Sayoko turned and scampered off into the living room with 'Mr. Bear'.

Skuld watched for a moment and then sighed as she turned to sweep up the plate.

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Several hours later.

Toshiyuki Aoshimasat in a restaurant at his private table, quietly fuming. His cousin, Sayoko Mishima, had once again declined to join him. She had been doing that more and more as of late, at least since Keiichi and Belldandy Morisato had died.

Aoshima sighed.

Belldandy.

He had never seen anyone as beautiful as her before, and probably would never see anyone who could surpass her. Well, perhaps the daughter might, if she overcame the fact she was also Morisato's. How that simpleton ever got Belldandy to marry him was a vexing mystery.

Aoshima was brought out of his thoughts by a foreigner sitting down at his table. The man seemed to be quite a brute and glared over the table at him with cold blue eyes.

"May I help you?" Aoshima asked.

"That you can." The man replied, "If you are Toshiyuki Aoshima."

"I am." Aoshima replied, taking a sip of wine from his glass.

"I require……information." The man said.

"Information on?"

The man looked around, then leaned forward.

"I understand that many strange things have happened in this town." He said, "Things not of this world, things that might be considered……..magical."

Aoshima frowned.

"Why do you ask me about such things?"

"Because I understand you are the man to ask. Many stories of this magic revolve around you."

"Perhaps." Aoshima set his wine down. "May I ask your name?"

"O'Connell." The man replied.

"Very well, O'Connell." Aoshima said, staring at the man. "Why should I tell you anything?"

"I'll make it worth your while." O'Connell said.

Aoshima snorted. "You have nothing I want."

A loud chink brought Aoshima's attention to the table. A sack now sat next to his plate. He frowned, then opened it. Inside, he found diamonds, gemstones, and emeralds.

"This is quite a fortune." Aoshima said softly, before lifting his gaze towards O'Connell. "I don't believe my information is quite worth this."

"Let me determine that." O'Connell replied, "Now tell me what you know."

Aoshima looked down at the table and the sack, then returned his gaze back to O'Connell.

"It began about ten years ago." Aoshima began, "A new student, a foreigner, showed up at the University named Belldandy. She was beautiful. All who saw her wanted her. But she had eyes only for a pathetic man by the name of Keiichi Morisato. Despite my attempts, she never left his side." Aoshima grabbed his wine glass and drank heavily from it. "Things began to occur around her. Unexplained things. I get tossed out of a top floor hotel room on a bed, only to land safely in the ocean. It rains while sunny out. My cousin also noticed things. Her car engine dying mysteriously, strange winds whipping up out of nowhere. Luck seemed to always be with Morisato. We both believed it to be the result of Belldandy. But when we tried to investigate, Belldandy's sisters began to show up everywhere." Aoshima sighed. "We never did figure out what she was. My cousin believed her to be a witch. But who knows…….. I still wanted her, even after she married Morisato." Aoshima sighed and downed his glass. He then poured himself another. "But it's all pointless now anyway. She died, along with her husband, in a plane crash two years ago."

O'Connell stared at Aoshima blankly.

"She left nothing behind? What of her sisters?"

"They did leave something behind." Aoshima replied, "A child, now being cared for by the youngest of her sisters."

"A child?" O'Connell raised an eyebrow. "Tell me more."

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"I think I was insane."

Sayoko Mishima looked at Skuld curiously. Both sat on a park bench, watching as the younger Sayoko played on the swings with other children.

"Insane?" Sayoko asked.

"To agree to take care of Yoko." Skuld replied, fiddling with her braided dark hair. "I was insane to do it. I'm not old enough."

Sayoko smirked, "I seem to remember a certain twelve year old declaring she wasn't a kid."

Skuld gave a weak smile.

"Yeah, I remember her. If I could I'd go back into the past, I'd throttle her."

"No you wouldn't." Sayoko replied, "At eighteen, you made a very adult decision to take care of Yoko. You stayed with your decision even after Urd (Skuld frowned at the mention of her eldest sister) was forced to return to Heaven and Megumi left. I think you've done an excellent job."

"Not that excellent." Skuld replied wistfully, "Onee-sama was perfect."

"We all can't be Belldandy though." Sayoko said.

"No." Skuld whispered, thinking of her sister, "We can't."

A sudden shout caused them both to look back at the younger Sayoko. She had fallen from the swing, but instead of landing hard on the ground, she was floating. All the other kids stared at her, some backing away in fear.

"Oh heck!" Skuld shouted, rising to her feet. She ran to Sayoko and grabbed her out of the air, then waved her hand before the gathered children. Blank looks appeared on their faces. Skuld quickly hurried back to the older Sayoko, the younger tucked under her arm.

"But I want to play!" Yoko called out.

"You've played enough." Skuld replied. She set the child down in her stroller and started out of the park and back towards the Temple. The older Sayoko quickly followed.

"I assume you erased their memories?" Sayoko asked.

"Yes.' Skuld replied, her voice sounding very tired.

"Are you alright?"

"No." Skuld said, "I'm only a Class 2 Goddess, and everyday I'm using more and more energy to fix things Yoko's done. I'm not gaining it back as quickly."

"I was wondering why there were so many ice cream tubs in the trash." Sayoko commented, "When do you become a Class 1?"

"When father decides." Skuld said.

"I know what you need." Sayoko said, "You need a night off."

Skuld shook her head.

"I can't. There's Yoko to take care of."

"We'll get a sitter."

"Who? Anyone I get to watch her will notice she isn't a normal child."

A grin appeared across Sayoko's face.

"So we get someone who knows she's a Goddess."

Skuld's eyes narrowed.

"Who?"

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O'Connell stared at the Temple complex through binoculars. More specifically, his attention was on the caretaker's house. He and one of his men, Baker, had set up an observation post a few buildings away from the complex. He watched as the two women pushed the stroller through the Temple gate and towards the house. Both women had dark colored hair, but one had blue markings upon her forehead and just under the corners of her eyes. The child had markings as well, but different from those on the adults. Her hair was dark, but lighter then the women's.

"I don't like this."

O'Connell glanced at Baker.

"If you don't like it Baker you can just leave."

"It's not that." Baker replied. He nodded towards the complex. "I don't mind kidnapping, but if they're goddesses……."

"Only two are." O'Connell replied, looking back through his binoculars. "The ones with the blue facial markings."

"Still," Baker said, "That Goddess isn't going to come quietly."

"We're not taking the adult."

"What?!"

O'Connell grinned.

"Children are much easier to handle anyway."

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The next day.

Early evening.

Skuld stared at the two large muscular men before her.

Sayoko had arrived with Chihiro Fujimi and Sora Hasegawa, as well as the sitters for the night.

Tamiya and Otaki.

"You want these two lunk heads babysitting Yoko?!?!" Skuld shouted, as she turned to the three mortal women. "Are you nuts?!?!?"

"Well Yoko likes them……" Sayoko replied.

"…And they know she's a goddess….." Chihiro added.

"…and who would mess with them?" Sora finished.

Skuld looked back. Tamiya and Otaki were currently flexing their muscles before little Sayoko. She laughed and clapped as they struck poses.

"Remember," Chihiro added, "Tamiya got hit in the head by a falling motorcycle and it didn't even phase him."

"Yeah well….." Skuld sighed, "I suppose they'll be alright."

"See!" Sayoko shouted, "We're going to have fun tonight!"

"Yeah!" Sora and Chihiro cheered. They then turned and looked at Skuld. Chihiro elbowed the goddess.

"Yay." Skuld finally said.

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"They're leaving."

O'Connell sat up from the mat he'd been resting on and walked over to Baker, taking up a second pair of binoculars as he did so. He watched the adult goddess leaving the caretaker's house alongside three women.

"What about the two brutes?" O'Connell asked.

"Still in there." Baker replied, "I think they're watching the kid." Baker turned and looked at O'Connell. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes." O'Connell replied, "My contact paid handsomely for information on Fairies. Imagine what he'll pay for a live Goddess."

"But those two men?"

O'Connell walked over and pulled a briefcase onto a table in the middle of the room. He opened the case to reveal two strange pistols. He held up one.

"These are air guns." He explained, "They fire darts. More specifically, tranquillizer darts. With them, we'll knock out the brutes, and take the girl."

Baker looked at the guns, then back at O'Connell.

"That easily?" he asked.

"That easily." O'Connell confirmed. "The hard part will be negotiating with my contact."

"Shouldn't be too hard."

"You don't know this guy," O'Connell said, "He's a genius."

"A genius?"

"Don't worry about it." O'Connell said waving his hand. "Let's get ready."

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"I told you." Sayoko said, her face beaming, "You just needed to get out."

"Yeah right." Skuld mumbled as she sipped her beer.

"She's right Skuld." Chihiro said, "Sometimes you just got to let your hair down and relax." She pointed at Skuld's outfit. "Isn't it nice to get out of that goddess outfit?"

Skuld looked down at her t-shirt and jeans.

"I don't wear my robes everyday." She grumbled, "Only on official missions and while in Heaven."

"Oh quit grumbling." Sayoko said, "Why can't you be like Sora?"

Skuld glanced over at the other woman. Sora's cheeks were a rosy red and she seemed ready to fall off her barstool.

"You want me to be drunk off my ass?"

Chihiro thought a moment. "I'd refer to it as pleasantly happy, but if you insist, yes, drunk off your ass."

Skuld frowned.

"I won't get drunk." She almost growled, "I won't do that to Yoko."

Sayoko suddenly sat up.

"Damn, that's right." She whispered, "I forgot about Urd."

"Don't say that name!" Skuld hissed, "After what she did, she never deserves to be near Yoko again!"

"She's your sister Skuld." Chihiro said, "Someday you'll have to see her again."

"Someday," Skuld conceded, "maybe I will see her. But that day is far in the future."

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"DAMMIT MIKEY!!!" the TV boomed.

Tamiya, Otaki, and little Sayoko all laughed as they watched Senior chase his youngest son around the Orange County Chopper shop.

"He's funny!" Sayoko said between laughs.

"Someday we'll build you a bike!" Tamiya said, "What do you think of that?"

"Cool!" Sayoko replied. She was then quiet for a moment. "Can it be like Daddy's?" She asked.

Both Tamiya and Otaki seemed thoughtful at the thought of her father. Keiichi Morisato had once been a part of the Nekomi Motor Club, a club they had been Presidents in until turning it over to Keiichi. He had been an excellent mechanic, as well as a driver.

"Yeah," Otaki said, "Just like your dad's."

The door to the house was then kicked open and two masked men entered.

"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!?!" Tamiya boomed, rising to his full height.

His response was for the lead masked man to raise a gun and fire. Tamiya felt a sting in his chest and looked down to see a dart. He pulled it out and with a bellow of rage, charged at the masked men. Otaki charged as well.

"HIDE YOKO!" Otaki shouted.

The masked men both raised their weapons and fired again and again. Otaki finally went down, with three darts in him, but Tamiya kept coming forward. He finally tackled one of the men, and slammed him into a wall. The wall gave way with a crash, and Tamiya continued to carry the man into the next one. The second masked man continued to fire at Tamiya.

Finally Tamiya collapsed to the floor, pinning his target on the ground.

"Get this lout off of me Baker!" the man shouted.

"I'm coming!" Baker replied.

Together, they pushed Tamiya's unconscious form off of O'Connell. O'Connell quickly leaped to his feet.

"Hurry and get the girl." he said, "The neighbors might have heard the disturbance."

Baker nodded and turned back to the living room. The young goddess was no longer in sight.

"Where is she?" he asked.

"She's hiding obviously you idiot!" O'Connell shouted, "Find her!"

Baker quickly hurried down the hall. He kicked in the first door he came to and glanced in. Nothing but a low, dust covered table and a few book shelves. The next door he kicked in looked like it had been a lab of some kind. It too was well coated in dust.

He kicked in another door. This room seemed to be covered in electronic bits and pieces. But there was no sign of the kid. He finally reached the last door. He kicked it open and started to enter when a lamp flew across the room and hit him.

"GO AWAY!!!" Sayoko screamed.

Baker looked up just in time to see a drawer from the dresser blast out of its slot and head towards him. He ducked.

"What's taking so long?!" O'Connell shouted.

"She's tossing shit at me!" Baker replied. He then fell to the ground as the entire dresser slammed into his back.

"Enough of this!" O'Connell ran to the door and raised his gun at Sayoko.

"GO AWAY!!!" Sayoko screamed. The shelves in the room began to rattle.

O'Connell fired.

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Hours later.

"Feel any better Skuld?" Sayoko asked.

"A little." Skuld grudgingly admitted. "It was nice not having to worry if Yoko was about to accidentally float something or herself."

"Don't forget the temper tantrums." Chihiro said as she helped Sora navigate the sidewalk, "You remember when I wouldn't get her that doll?"

Skuld winced at the memory of the unhappy two year old. "I was trying to forget that."

"I missed that one." Sayoko said looking at Skuld curiously.

"Picture this." Chihiro began, "Little Sayoko wanted this doll….."

"An expensive one." Skuld murmured.

"….well yes. I said no, she 'disagreed' and….."

"….she sent the shelves toppling over." Skuld finished. "One after the other, the domino effect and……" Skuld's voice trailed off. The other looked over to see that the front door of the caretaker house was open.

"What the hell are Tamiya and Otaki doing?!" Chihiro asked, "They left the door wide……"

"Chihiro." Skuld cut her off, "Something's not right."

"How can you tell?" Sayoko asked.

"A feeling." Skuld started towards the door. As she grew closer, she could see it was barely hanging by the hinges.

"Shit!" Skuld swore, surprising the mortals present.

Skuld entered the house and froze. The others followed right behind her. What they saw was shocking. It even sobered Sora right up. A giant hole was in the wall of the living room. Otaki lay near it face down. Chihiro released Sora and quickly knelt beside him.

"He's asleep!" she said.

"Sleeping on the job." Sayoko grumbled, "How could he….?"

"Not by choice." Chihiro held up a small dart.

"Yoko?!" Skuld called out. She started down the hall.

"Tamiya's over here!" Sora called out. She had stepped carefully through the holes in the walls. "He's got all these funny darts on him."

"Yoko!" Skuld called out, her voice starting to become desperate.

Sayoko went down the hall and saw Skuld just entering Yoko's room. She hurried up, passing shattered doors and stepping over a broken dresser to enter the room. Yoko's room was in shambles. The shelves were all topped over and the bed was partially hanging out the window. But Skuld wasn't looking at these things. Her eyes were directed to the corner. There, Yoko's teddy bear sat.

Skuld slowly knelt down before the teddy bear. She slowly reached out and touched it.

In a flash, the events of the night passed through her mind…….

"_GO AWAY!" Yoko screamed. The shelves began to rattle, sending books and pictures toppling to the floor._

_The masked man, his gun pointed at Yoko, fired. Yoko gasped as a dart slammed into her chest. She stared at the man for a moment, then the surprise on her face vanished._

"_BAD MAN!" she cried._

_The shelves now tore themselves away from the walls and hurtled towards the masked man. But they did not reach him. The drugs in the dart finally took hold and Yoko's eyes rolled back into her head as she collapsed to the ground._

_The last thing she heard was the footsteps of the man approaching her, then feeling her body being lifted into the air. The bear dropped from her hands and……_

Skuld gasped and backed away, dropping the bear.

"What is it?" Sayoko asked.

"They took her." Skuld whispered.

"Who took her?"

"THEY TOOK HER!!!" Skuld screamed, "THEY TOOK MY NEICE!!!"

"WHO DID?!" Sayoko shouted back.

"I don't know." Skuld growled, her eyes taking on a glow, "But they'll wish they never had."


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Present day.

Dublin, Ireland.

Evening.

The car moved quickly through the streets towards its destination. The driver allowed his eyes to drift to the rearview mirror and eye the passenger in the back seat. Where as most teens his age would be staring out the window, taking in the sights of the city, fourteen year old Artemis Fowl did not. It was childish to do so, and thus, beneath him. Instead, he was typing away on his laptop.

"Are we almost there Butler?" Artemis asked.

Butler, his bodyguard, quickly returned his eyes to the road.

"Almost." He replied.

"Good." Artemis continued to type away. "I hope whatever O'Connell has is worth driving out here. I was quite deep in researching……."

Butler let out a soft sigh. His principal was always doing research on one thing or another. For the past year though, all his thoughts seemed to be directed towards the fairies and their technology.

Earlier that day, one of Artemis' contacts had sent a message, saying he'd acquired something that Artemis would find interesting. This same contact had provided information that had eventually led the teen to capture a fairy.

Butler pulled the car over as they reached their destination, a small unobtrusive pub set back in an alley. Butler got out and, after giving the area a quick glance, opened the door for Artemis. The teen stepped out, adjusted the tie of his school uniform slightly, then headed into the pub, followed by Butler.

The two walked up to the bar. The bartender gave Artemis a curious look.

"I'm looking for a man named O'Connell." Artemis said.

The bartender nodded towards a back corner. The two turned and headed in the direction indicated. There, they found O'Connell sitting in a darkened booth.

"Nice to see you could make it." O'Connell said.

"Your message was intriguing." Artemis replied, "I hope the object you acquired is as advertised."

"Oh it is at that and more." O'Connell replied, "Care for a drink?"

"I'd rather complete this business." Artemis said, "What is the object in question?"

O'Connell picked up his drink and swirled it around in the glass.

"I imagine you'll pay me four times the information fee for this object."

Artemis frowned. "Before I pay for anything, I wish to know what I'll be buying."

"Very well." O'Connell downed his drink and stood up. "Come with me."

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O'Connell led Artemis and Butler behind the bar to a large lorry. Baker was waiting at the back. At a nod from O'Connell, Baker opened the rear doors, revealing a kennel. Artemis frowned and moved forward, peering into the kennel. He saw a small figure inside of the kennel.

"You kidnapped a fairy?" Artemis asked.

"Better." O'Connell replied, "I've captured a Goddess."

"A Goddess?" Artemis asked, a hint of surprise in his voice. Even Butler seemed shocked.

"Yes, a Goddess." O'Connell repeated.

A frown now appeared on Artemis' face.

"You have proof of course?"

"She's right there." O'Connell replied, pointing at the kennel.

"All I see is what appears to be a child inside of a kennel." Artemis said.

Before O'Connell could reply, Baker shouted.

"DUCK!"

Everyone fell to the street, Butler moving over Artemis. Something whirled just over their heads before slamming into the door of the lorry. The object rebounded with a clang and hit the street. Artemis looked up. A trash bin lid rattled around a bit before finally coming to rest.

Butler was on his feet in an instant, looking in the direction the trash lid had been thrown, but he saw no one.

"You're looking the wrong way." O'Connell said, staring at the kennel. "Baker! I thought you put her to sleep!"

"I thought I had." Baker replied. He was also staring at the kennel, but had begun to slowly back away.

Artemis rose to his feet and wiped off his suit.

"Are you saying it's the 'goddess' that's to blame?"

"Well, yes." O'Connell stated.

Artemis frowned and walked up to the kennel.

"I wouldn't get too close." Baker warned.

Artemis ignored him and peered through the bars of the kennel. What he saw confirmed his earlier assumption. A young girl of perhaps five or so, sat at the far end of the kennel. Her blue eyes were full of tears, and it seemed that she'd been crying for sometime. A blue elongated diamond tattoo was on her forehead, and blue triangles marked her cheeks just below her eyes.

The girl stared back at Artemis. He had to admit, it was slightly creepy. There did seem to be more to this girl. He found himself beginning to feel sorry for her, even a bit annoyed at O'Connell for treating her this way.

Maybe he'd spent too much time around Captain Holly Short.

"This is a child." He finally said.

"I admit she's young." O'Connell replied, "But she's far easier to handle then an adult. Now, perhaps now we can discuss a price?"

"You will release her to me. Now."

"I'm sorry?" O'Connell asked. "What was that?"

Artemis turned around very slowly and looked up at O'Connell.

"I said you will release her to me." Artemis repeated, "There will be no money."

A look of anger appeared on O'Connell's face.

"I went through a lot of trouble to get her!" he said, "I expect to be paid!"

"You have worse problems." Artemis replied, "If she is as you say, a Goddess, surely others will come looking for her."

"And they will be dealt with." O'Connell replied, "Though they haven't found me yet. Now I require payment."

"You will get nothing." Artemis said, "You have kidnapped a child, ripped her from her family and home. I find that……..disturbing." He glanced over at Butler. "Remove her from the kennel."

Butler nodded and started towards the cage.

"Wait one…." Baker tried to stop Butler. He never even laid a hand on him. Baker's body slammed hard against the wall before it crumpled to the ground. Just as quickly, Butler turned and pulled his Sig Sauer on O'Connell. The man glared at the bodyguard, then looked at Artemis.

"You won't get away with this." He growled.

"Perhaps," Artemis replied, "But then you have other things to worry about."

Butler opened the cage and the young girl climbed out. Her clothes were rumbled and dirty, and she wobbled slightly as she stood up.

She then shouted in Japanese, right before a bottle hurtled itself across the alley and into O'Connell's crotch. O'Connell went down gasping. The girl then turned to Artemis and Butler. Her eyes narrowed. Again, she spoke Japanese.

"What did she….?" Butler asked.

"She wants to know if we are 'bad men'." Artemis translated, his eyes never leaving the girl.

"We are not bad men." Artemis replied in Japanese. But as the words left his mouth, the girl's eyes narrowed further.

"You lie." She replied.

Artemis' eyebrow rose.

He supposed depending on ones view, he was a 'bad man'.

Must be more of Holly's influence.

Captain Short I mean.

"Very well." Artemis said, "I admit I have done bad things. But I intend no harm to you."

The young Goddess cocked her head slightly and stared at him intently.

"Promise?" she asked.

Artemis prevented his annoyance from showing. If anything, he was a gentlemen, and a gentlemen always kept his word.

"Yes. I promise."

The girl's eyes visibly softened.

"Can you speak English?" Artemis asked.

"Yes." The child replied in English.

"What is your name?"

"Sayoko."

"Well Sayoko," Artemis said, "Why don't you come with us? We'll get you cleaned up and try to get you home."

She seemed to think about that for a moment.

"Home to Auntie?"

"Yes. Home to………. Auntie."

"Ok."

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The drive to Fowl Manor was fairly quiet. Artemis asked Sayoko the basic questions, Where do you live? How old are you? And Sayoko responded, for the most part. Artemis now knew she was from a city called Nekomi. It was probably in Japan, he deducted, due to the fact she spoke Japanese first before English. He also knew she was indeed five. He got several names of people she knew, including her 'Auntie's' name.

He was confused however. Yes, he'd admit that the genius Artemis Fowl was stumped. He did not understand why a goddess, why at least two goddesses, were on Earth. At least with the Fairies, he knew they had to come up from the underground to recharge their magic.

The Fairies were a known quantity.

The Gods were a complete unknown to him.

Nothing had prepared him for this, not even Sunday school.

Arriving at Fowl Manor, Artemis led Sayoko through the front door while Butler parked the car. Juliet, Butler's sister and wrestling junkie, was waiting just inside.

"Welcome home Artemis." The older teen said. She then looked down at Sayoko. "Who's this?"

"This, Juliet," Artemis said with a sweep of his hand, "is Sayoko, a Goddess."

Juliet blinked and looked at Artemis curiously.

"A Goddess?"

"Yes." Artemis replied, "She'll be staying with us until I can figure out how to get her home, where ever that is. Would you see to her needs?"

"Okay……..." Juliet knelt down in front of Sayoko. Her braided blond hair dangled off her shoulder, swinging slightly from the weight of the jade ring tied at its end. "You look like you could use a bath."

Sayoko frowned.

"I hate baths!" she exclaimed, "But Auntie says we have to."

"Your Auntie is a very wise person." Juliet replied, "Come on."

The teen held out her hand to the young Goddess. The girl didn't even hesitate to take Juliet's hand.

Artemis watched Juliet lead the little girl off towards her room. By then, Butler had reentered the building.

"Keep an eye out." Artemis said, "Use everything we have, human and fairy."

Butler raised an eyebrow.

"You expect trouble?"

Artemis turned his head to the side.

"We have in our possession a child of the gods. When I told O'Connell they would come after him, I was not…..joking." Artemis looked back in the direction Juliet and Sayoko had gone. "I pity him when they discover he no longer has her."

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"Thank you Detective." Sayoko said as she let the police out, which wasn't hard considering there was no longer a door.

They'd called the police shortly after Skuld had said she was gone. Fortunately, the Detective that had been a fan of the Motor Club, back when Keiichi and Belldandy had been alive. Also Sayoko had invoked the Mishima family name. The Detective said he and the department would work that much harder to find Yoko.

"They won't find her."

Sayoko turned around and stared at Skuld. The Goddess was sitting on the couch, as devastated as her home.

"What makes you think they won't find her?" Sayoko asked.

Skuld slowly turned her eyes to Sayoko.

"Before the police arrived I tried to scan for her. You'd think after being trained by Belldandy, I'd be able to perform a simple search spell." Skuld sighed, "Then I remembered. Sayoko is hard to detect. Only when she uses her powers, is she detectable."

"And her powers are unpredictable." Sayoko murmured.

"Exactly."

The two sat silently on the couch. Wind whistled through the shattered doorframe, walls, and window.

"What about that computer?" Sayoko asked, "The one you're all connected to?"

"Yggdrasil?" Skuld said, looking thoughtful. Her eyes slowly grew wider. "Yeah, Yeah! That's it!"

Skuld leaped off the couch and flew to the phone. She quickly dialed an extremely long number.

"Operator." Came a voice.

Skuld exhaled sharply when she didn't hear her sister's voice. She hadn't even realized she'd been holding her breath until that moment.

"Peorth." Skuld said.

"Skuld! How are you? How's Sayoko? When are you….."

"Peorth." Skuld interrupted, "I need help. Sayoko's been taken."

The line was silent for a minute.

"I'm sorry. I think I misunderstood you." Peorth replied, "I thought you just said you had LOST YOUR SISTER'S ONLY CHILD AND KAMI-SAMA'S GRANDDUAGHTER!" Peorth's voice then became all cheery. "Was I mistaken?"

"No." Skuld whispered, "You're not."

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? HOW THE HELL COULD YOU LET HER BE TAKEN!"

"If you're trying to make me feel worse….." Skuld said, "You're succeeding! Now can you help me or not?"

Peorth let out a long sigh.

"What do you need?" she asked.

"Can you scan for Sayoko using Yggdrasil?" Skuld asked.

"Maybe." Was the reply, "I mean, if Yggdrasil is running correctly, which it isn't. It's just reached 70. And if the scanners were online, which only half are. Oh, and then the debuggers are still trying to clear the lower core……."

"Can you or can't you?" Skuld asked.

"Give me a week…..at least."

"THAT'S TOO DAMN LONG!" Skuld shouted.

"Thank Second Impact." Peorth replied, "Since it occurred, Yggdrasil just hasn't been the same. It might be another five or six years before we're back to pre-impact standards."

Skuld groaned.

"You're really making me feel better here."

"Skuld, we'll try." Peorth said, "Just don't expect miracles. We just don't have any to spare."

"Thanks. And Peorth?"

"What?"

"Don't tell anyone. Not even Urd."

Peorth let out a sigh.

"I don't know why but, alright. If I get busted for this……."

"I know." Skuld replied. She hung up the phone and turned around.

Sayoko was still sitting on the couch, her gaze turned towards the ceiling. Her eyes slowly rotated until Skuld was in view.

"I'm going to try the search spell again." Skuld said, "And I'm going to keep doing it till I find her, or Peorth does."

"And if that doesn't work?" Sayoko asked softly.

"I intend to keep doing it till it does." Skuld replied.

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Artemis let out a sigh and sat back in his chair. He'd worked late into the night, looking for any information on the Gods and Goddesses on the internet, as well as in the many books he had. He even went as far as to search through 'The Book' he had copied from the fairy. By morning, he'd been able to form a basic idea on the Gods.

"Good morning Artemis." Butler said as he entered his principal's room with a tray of tea, "I hope you did sleep."

"A bit." Artemis replied. He took a cup and poured himself some tea. "I've found out some interesting things."

Butler simply stood still and waited.

"For instance, there is only one recorded 'Skuld' that is related to the gods. She was a fate, specifically the Norse fate, also called a Norn, that dealt with the future. She had two sisters, Urd and Verdandi, who dealt with the past and present respectively."

"Then what of the child?" Butler asked.

"I don't know." Artemis replied, "While she is young, she does have the power of the gods. She knows when you lie and also has some telekinetic powers. If what I read is true, she has enough power within her to level a city block. Her Aunt might have enough power to level a city." Artemis slowly turned his head towards Butler. "And they are the weaker Goddesses. More powerful ones exist."

Butler stared stunned at Artemis.

"She is dangerous to keep here then." Butler said, "We must return her."

"Indeed." Artemis replied, "But I have not yet determined a way to contact the Gods directly."

"What do we do then?" Butler asked.

Artemis smirked.

"We contact them indirectly of course."

"And how do we do that?"

Artemis' smirk grew bigger.

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Haven

Commander Julius Root was chewing on the end of his fungus cigar as he went over the various LEPrecon reports on Troll and criminal activity. There wasn't as many as there had been in the past, but more then enough to keep him busy.

"Julius?"

Root turned his head and stared at his intercom.

"Julius?" the voice came again.

Root jabbed his finger on the intercom, causing the device to squeal under the pressure.

"Don't call me Julius! It's Commander or sir Foaly!"

"Fine." The centaur grumbled, "But I need you in here."

"Why?"

"Because HE is contacting us."

Root frowned.

"Who?"

Foaly sighed into the intercom. After all, the person contacting them was the most hated and dangerous criminal mastermind known to Haven.

"Fowl."

The cigar dropped from Root's mouth.

"WHAT!"

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Artemis waited patiently in his chair before the fire. In his hand was a fairy communicator, one of the many he now had after Butler had taken out LEPretrieval One almost a year before. Currently, a pause symbol filled the screen, or at least the gnomish equivalent.

After a number of minutes, the symbol vanished, replaced by a very red faced individual.

"You were told to never contact us!" Root shouted.

"I apologize." Artemis said, "But certain events have forced me to speak to you."

"What events?"

Artemis sighed.

"I have currently in my possession a child. She seems to have been kidnapped from her family."

Root's face became twisted in a frown.

"Mud men children don't concern us." The elf said.

"Ah but this one might." Artemis leaned in closer to the communicator. "I have been informed that this child is a Goddess."

Root's face went white.

"A Goddess?" he repeated very softly.

'That got his attention' Artemis thought, "Yes, a Goddess. Seeing as I have been unable to contact her people, I thought you might be able to."

Root chewed his lip slightly before replying.

"I'll have to get back with you." The transmission was immediately cut off.

Artemis smirked.

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"Get Short in here right now!" Root ordered.

Foaly blinked, "Isn't she….."

"I don't care where she is or what she's doing! Get her here now!" Root shouted.

"Alright I'm doing it." Foaly quickly contacted Short. Afterward, he looked over at Root who was now pacing about.

"Julius, what's wrong?" Foaly asked.

Root looked over. "You heard him! He has a Goddess."

"What is Artemis doing with a Goddess?" Foaly asked, "Aren't they spiritual beings living on a different plan of existence?"

"You have the internet!" Root snapped, "Figure it out!"

Foaly backed away from Root. Sure the Commander had yelled at him before, but this time he seemed truly worried about something. Since it wasn't very likely that Root would tell him, he decided to go onto the internet and figure out what this goddess thing was. He'd just begun his search when Captain Holly Short ran into the room. She quickly stood at attention before Root.

"Captain Short reporting as ordered."

"Short," Root said, "We have a situation that requires your unique knowledge."

Holly blinked. "Sir?"

Root sighed. "You must go to Fowl manor."

Holly's mouth dropped.

"Why do I have to go there?" she asked, "What has he done now?"

"It's not what he has done, so much as what he might do." Root replied, "He may have a Goddess."

Holly blinked. "A Goddess?"

"Yes. A Goddess." Root replied.

"I don't understand."

"Neither do I and I've been cruising the internet." Foaly spoke up.

Root sat down in a chair.

"What I am about to tell you is to be kept in the strictest confidentiality. Only the Council and the Commander of LEPrecon know of this tale." He began. "Thousands of years ago, we fairies got along with the gods. We helped them to create the paradise that was the surface. Before then, it had been ravaged by the battles between Heaven and Hell. Originally, we were to live in peace alongside the mud men. But then the mud men took more and more, driving us out. We were warned by the Gods that this could happen. We were then offered a place in the Heavens." Root looked off towards the ceiling. "We turned them down, at least the majority did. A few fairies accepted. But the rest stayed. When we were finally driven here to Haven, the council at the time sent a message to Heaven, accusing them of betrayal. There was no betrayal of course, both sides knew this, but the Council pushed and pushed. Something had to give and it did."

Root looked back at Holly and Foaly. "The Heavens disowned us, broke off all contact, and left us on our own. The Council was upset of course, and continued to send insulting messages to the Heavens, but there was no reply. Later, a slightly calmer Council came to power and they tried to mend relations with the Heavens to no avail."

Root stood up and began to pace. "There are some on the Council who now fear the Heavens, who fear retribution for our actions. I am of the opinion that if retribution was to have come, it would have come long ago." Root looked at the others. "Fowl may have a Goddess. Foaly, I want you to bring up everything we have on the Gods. It will be in a secured file. I'll supply the pass codes. Short, you will go to Fowl manor. Confirm the child is a Goddess, then make sure nothing happens to her."

"You think Fowl might use her to continue his criminal activities?" Holly asked.

"I don't know." Root replied, "Had I found out about this in any other way then what I did, I would have said yes. But he himself contacted us about her."

Holly's mouth dropped.

"Why would he do that?"

"I don't know." Root replied, "But I suggest you find out."


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Skuld stared hard at the bowl on the table before her. The liquid in it remained flat and motionless. She raised her right hand over it and began to chant in old Norse. The liquid flashed bright white and a wave of energy went out.

"Come on." Skuld muttered. "Again!" She waved her hand and a second wave of energy went out.

"Again!"

A third.

"AGAIN!"

A fourth.

She stared hard at the liquid, waiting for a sign.

She saw none.

Skuld sat back in her chair and placed her head in her hands.

"Dammit." She murmured, "Where are you?"

Then she felt it. A dark cold presence.

And a familiar one at that.

"Show yourself." Skuld said, raising her head.

Mara, Demoness first class, stepped into view on the porch. Her red eyes widened slightly at the sight of the shattered doors and the destruction inside.

"That must have been some party." Mara said, "Why wasn't I invited?"

"What do you want?" Skuld asked, "I'm in no mood for your stupid games."

Mara raised her hands.

"No games." She said, "I'm here purely out of curiosity. It seems someone in this vicinity has been sending out powerful search scans. Once is nothing, twice, still nothing, but over fifty?!" Mara shook her head. "What is going on?"

Skuld sighed.

"Yoko's missing. She's probably been kidnapped."

Mara's eyes went wide. "What?! What the hell are you still doing here then? Why aren't you searching?!"

"I have been searching!" Skuld snapped back, "Why do you think I've been using the search spell so damn much?! The entire motor club is out there searching! Sayoko Mishima is using her own money to hire private investigators! The police have sent her picture out all over the country! Peorth is even trying to get Yggdrasil to find her! WHAT ELSE COULD I POSSIBLY DO TO FIND HER?!!!"

Mara waited until Skuld had finished screaming, before speaking in a low soft voice.

"I know you don't trust me." She said, "But I do want to help. I'll go to the Queen for assistance. She did like Belldandy after all."

Skuld looked at Mara, her eyes staring deep into the Demoness'.

"Thank you." Skuld said.

Mara nodded, and started to leave. She paused at the door.

"You want help fixing this?" She indicated the wall.

"At this point Mara," Skuld said as she walked towards the table, "the condition of this place is my last concern."

Mara watched as Skuld resumed her search spell. She felt, as well as saw the first of what soon became many more scans. The Demoness then turned and headed away from the temple, vanishing into flame as she her foot touched the sidewalk.

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Artemis sat before the fire in the living room of the Manor. Almost a day had passed since he'd contacted the fairies, and they still hadn't replied. The fairy communicator remained silent beside him. He knew they would reply soon. Night had fallen but minutes before, and the last rays of dusk had long since vanished.

Juliet had of course been warned. She was in her room with the child. Apparently, the child liked to watch TV shows on automobiles, motorcycles, and racing.

Such a strange little girl.

Butler then entered the room. Artemis glanced over at him curiously.

"One fairy approaching the house. Shielded."

Artemis nodded. "Warn Juliet and then answer the door. Bring the fairy here."

Butler nodded and walked off to carry out the commands.

Artemis turned back to the fire.

'Why am I doing this? What is this child to me?' he thought, 'Perhaps by helping her, I am assured a place in heaven? No, the gods will see right through that. What is it then?' Artemis reran the events of his first meeting with Sayoko in his mind.

'It was the eyes.' He thought, 'so full of fear….pain….so deep….' He shook his head. 'Damn that Captain Short. She's made me soft.'

Butler then entered the room.

"Captain Holly Short." He announced as the three foot tall elf entered.

Speak of the devil.

"Hello Captain Short." Artemis said, "How nice of you to come."

"Like I had any choice in the matter." Holly replied, deciding to get the truth out of Artemis, "Really Fowl, kidnapping a Goddess? Why would you go a do a crazy thing like that?"

A frown appeared on Artemis' face.

"I had nothing to do with that." He replied, staring straight into the Elf's eyes. "In fact, you could say I rescued her."

"Ha!" Holly exclaimed, "What's in it for you? What scheme is hatching in your head right now to exploit her?"

"No scheme." Artemis replied. He then nodded to Butler. Butler hesitated, looking at Holly, more specifically her Neutrino, before he headed out of the room. "Won't you have a seat?"

Holly frowned at Artemis. He was being far too polite. She did however take a seat across the fire form him. The chair almost completely swallowed up her tiny form.

"Would you care for some refreshment?" he asked, "I have some bottled water of course."

"No, thank-you." Holly replied. Even the mud men's filtered water tasted somehow…..impure to her fairy taste buds.

The door to the room reopened, and Juliet peered in.

"Ah!" Artemis said, rising to his feet. "Here we are."

Holly jumped out of the chair and looked over. Juliet remained in the doorway, but her hand seemed to be held by someone just out of view.

"Come on." Juliet said to the person out of view, "It's alright."

A head peered into the room and looked around curiously. To Holly, it looked like a young mud girl, with long dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. She also had strange markings on her forehead and cheeks, something that Commander Root had said would help identify her as a goddess.

"Hello Sayoko." Artemis said, "How have you been?"

"Fine." Sayoko replied. She was still very reluctant to enter the room.

Artemis held out his hand, indicating Holly.

"This is Captain Short of the LEPrecon." He said, "She's going to help you get home."

Holly was now staring at Artemis in total amazement. When had she agreed to that?

"Holly." Came Foaly's voice from her earpiece. "We need a better view of her. We can't quite make out the markings."

Holly shook her head, then walked over to Sayoko. They were almost the exact same height.

"Hello Sayoko." The elf said, "You can call me Holly."

"You're going to help me get home to Auntie?" Sayoko asked, staring at Holly with her blue eyes.

Holly felt like she was under a mesmer. The girl's eyes seemed to look deep into her soul.

"She is a Goddess." Root's voice then came over the earpiece. "D'Avrit!! Why did Fowl of all people have to be the one to find her?"

Sayoko's eyes went wide.

"That was a bad word." She whispered.

Holly's eyes widened.

"You heard that?" she asked, "And understood?"

Sayoko nodded.

"She has very good hearing." Juliet said, "I was muttering to myself across the room and she heard me, while the TV was on."

"I suggest you tell Foaly or the Commander to watch their language." Artemis said, a slight smirk appearing on his face. "She understands quite a few languages, including Gnomish."

Holly's head snapped towards Artemis in surprise. She then looked back at Sayoko and spoke in Gnomish.

"You can understand me?" she asked.

"Yes." Sayoko replied in Gnomish.

"Oh frond." Holly murmured. Then seeing Sayoko's eyes narrow she covered up her mouth.

"D'Av….." She started to exclaim before stopping.

"That's it." Came Foaly's voice, "teach the kid naughty words."

"Short." Root said, "Take her out of there. Bring her here. It's safer then being with Fowl."

Holly turned to Artemis.

"I'll take custody of her. We'll see that she is returned to her family."

"I don't doubt that." Artemis replied, "But I would prefer to be the one to return her. All I asked is for your assistance."

"I suppose you expect to be rewarded too." Holly said, "Improve your image, as well as your pocket book?"

Artemis shrugged, "That benefit had occurred to me."

"Well I'm sorry but I'm not about to let that happen. She's coming with me."

Artemis crossed his arms. "And just how to you propose to get out of this manor with her?" He pointed to the door. Butler was now standing beside his sister Juliet. "Somehow I doubt you'll get passed them both."

Holly pulled out her Neutrino and pointed it at Artemis.

"They will if I have you as a hostage." Holly replied, "IollH doubt they'll try anything with this pointed at you."

"They won't." Artemis replied, still standing with his arms crossed, "But I think you forgot someone."

Holly looked over at Sayoko. The young Goddess was staring at her with an odd expression.

It looked almost like…… disappointment.

"Come on Sayoko." Holly said, "We're leaving."

"I'm going home?" the Goddess asked.

"You're coming to my home." Holly said, "Then we'll get you to your family."

Sayoko shook her head.

"I want to stay with Juliet, Butler, and Arty."

"What!?" Holly stared at the girl in shock.

Artemis wanted to smirk at Holly's expression, but the child had just called him 'Arty'. He gave Juliet a glare, but the teenage girl just shrugged at him.

"Sayoko," Holly said slowly, "You aren't safe here. You'll be safer with me and the other fairies."

"No." Sayoko replied, "I want to stay HERE."

"Just grab her and go Short!" Root's voice screamed in her ear.

Holly returned her gaze to Artemis.

"What did you do to her!" she asked.

"Nothing." He replied.

Before Holly could say anything else, she felt a sudden surge in energy coming from right beside her. She turned her head in time to see Sayoko's eyes glowing white. Then there was a sharp sting in her hands as something slammed into them, sending her Neutrino flying. Holly turned back to see Artemis' face a mixture of shock and anger. His eyes were staring at a vase that lay shattered on the floor, along side her Neutrino.

"Sayoko." Artemis said, trying to control his voice, "That was very expensive."

"The kid did that?" Foaly whispered in shock, "Wow."

Holly took that moment to leap towards her fallen Neutrino. But just as her fingers brushed against it, she felt another surge of power. The Neutrino hurtled up into the air. Holly then watched in shock as the Neutrino collapsed inward on itself, becoming just a small crumbled ball of metal. It landed on the floor in front of her with a thunk.

"Perhaps we should reconsider the 'Grab her and run' order." Foaly said.

"I….uh…tend to agree sir." Holly replied.

Holly waited for Root to say something. Instead, she heard the slam of a door followed by muffled shouting coming over the comm.

"He's gone." Foaly said, "Somehow I think it's a good thing you're up there."

Holly looked over at Artemis, who was still staring at the shattered vase, then over at Sayoko, whom was still glaring at her.

"I'm not so sure." She replied.

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"Little basterd," O'Connell muttered, "cheating us out of our money."

Baker glanced at O'Connell who was now downing a beer. He waited until O'Connell had signaled the bartender for another before speaking.

"What are you thinking of doing Boss?" Baker asked.

O'Connell sloshed his drink around for a moment.

"The basterd is rich enough." He replied, "Hell, his family is loaded." He turned and smiled at Baker.

"I think we should go and collect our fee."

"But what about the bodyguard?" Baker asked, "He's good. Very good. Then there's the Goddess…….."

"Well I don't intend to go alone." O'Connell snapped back. "Go get the boys. Make sure they're heavily armed."

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Holly stared at the lump of metal in her hands.

"I can't believe she did that." She murmured.

"I can. Be glad it was just your gun." Artemis replied. He then narrowed his eyes at the Elf. "You pointed your gun at me."

"So?" Holly replied, "You kidnapped me."

"Are we going back to that again?" Artemis asked, "I was young! Immature."

"It was under a year ago."

"I've grown up since then!"

Holly glared at the mud man.

"You kidnapped me and held me for ransom." She growled, "How do we know you didn't do the same with her?" She thumbed over her shoulder to where Sayoko was listening to Juliet read a book. "Who knows what you would ask the gods for!"

Artemis sighed.

"I suppose one might take that view considering our history."

"OUR history?!" Holly snorted, "There is no us! YOU are a kidnapper! A Blackmailer! A……"

"Is the circumstance of our first meeting always going to be held over my head?" Artemis asked.

"Hmm, let me think." Holly replied sarcastically, tapping her chin as if in thought. She then turned and glared at Artemis. "YES!"

Artemis let out another sigh. He seemed to be doing this a lot around her.

"So how exactly are we," He saw Holly's eyes narrow, "going to return the Goddess to her family? I can't exactly call God up on my cell phone now can I?"

"Foaly's working on that." Holly replied, "He's accessing computer files even as we speak." She glanced over towards Sayoko. "I wonder……what else can she do?"

"I don't know." Artemis replied, "I'll admit I am curious as well. She is, of course, a child. I imagine an adult can do much more." He looked over at Holly. "I don't recommend trying a mesmer on her though."

Holly ignored his comment. She was still looking towards the young goddess on Juliet's lap as the elder girl was showing the younger a wrestling magazine. The girl was giving Juliet her complete and undivided attention, her blue eyes showing excitement.

"Why?"

Artemis blinked.

"What?" he asked.

Holly was surprised as well. She hadn't realized she'd spoken.

"Why?" Holly repeated, looking at the mud man. "Why are you helping her?"

Artemis frowned.

"I honestly don't know." He finally said, "When I first met with O'Connell, I was expecting something interesting. I wasn't expecting a child, much less a Goddess." He paused for a moment, leaning back in his chair.

"Her eyes." He whispered, "It was like they were looking into my soul. And they held so much emotion, I think I could feel some of her pain." He looked over at Holly. "I just couldn't leave her there. I had to help her."

Holly smiled. "Perhaps you're becoming a decent person."

"Maybe I am." Artemis admitted, "And I'm blaming you for it."

"Me?"

"Yes, you."

"What did I do?"

"You, Miss Short," Artemis replied, "have caused me to grow a conscious."

"Is that such a bad thing?" Holly asked.

"It is when you are supposed to be, and I'll use your words, a criminal genius." Artemis replied.

"You can't be a criminal forever. Eventually you will be caught."

"I suppose." Artemis then smirked, "Though if I'm caught by you, I suppose it wouldn't be all that bad."

Holly smirked back, her cheeks taking on a slight tinge of red.

From across the room, a pair of blue eyes had turned and now watched them.

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"Tamiya woke up."

Skuld's head lifted from the bowl on the table and turned to face Chihiro.

"When?" she asked.

"About fifteen minutes ago." Chihiro replied, "The dumb ox called me because he's too afraid to talk to you."

Skuld blinked.

"Afraid of me?"

"He's upset he didn't stop them from taking Yoko."

Skuld shook her head.

"It's not his fault. You be sure and tell him that."

"I will." She then paused for a moment. "I do have a name for you."

"Name?"

"Tamiya overheard it before he went down." Chihiro replied, "Does the name O'Connell mean anything to you?"

Skuld's eyes narrowed.

"O'Connell?"


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"O'Connell……O'Connell…….O'Connell." Mara murmured as file after file scrolled past the screen. With each file, an image of the person in question flashed up as well. Mara glanced back at Skuld who was watching from over her shoulder.

"Do you realize how many O'Connells there are in the world?" the Demoness asked.

"Yes." Skuld replied, never taking her eyes off of the computer screen. "Just turn around and keep the link with Hell going."

"But….."

"When I see him, I'll tell you."

Mara turned back to the computer, grumbling as she did so.

"Still at it?"

Mara glanced at the door to the room. The older Sayoko stood there.

"Yes, she's still at it Mishima." Mara said.

Sayoko nodded. She had thought Skuld was insane for calling the Demoness for help. Mara had brought nothing but trouble with her wherever she went. It was that trouble, as well as a few over events that caused Sayoko to shun the demoness, and regret every deal she'd ever made with her.

She did have to admit, that in this instance, Mara was good to have around.

Yggdrasil was still far from any shape to do the kind of searches they required to find young Sayoko, despite Peorth's efforts..

"Hold it." Skuld suddenly said.

Mana hit a key on the keyboard, halting the files. She and Sayoko then looked at the screen.

It was the image of a man, in his late thirties. To the others, he seemed much like the other pictures that had been scrolling past. But to Skuld, she knew he was the one. It was the look in his eyes, she'd seen it before, in the residual memory left on Yoko's teddy bear.

"That's him." She whispered. "He took my Yoko."

"Jack O'Connell." Mara read, "Age 38. Irishmen. Occupation: mercenary. He's been hired out by some of the top crime syndicates. Damn, at least thirty murders are attributed to him. Kidnappings, robberies, you name it, he's done it. His soul's been condemned to Hell at least a dozen times by now. Known clients……." Mara's eyes widened. "Well well well…….I've heard about him, never thought I actually find a link to him."

"Who?" Sayoko asked.

"Artemis Fowl the Second." Mara replied, "His father was a major crime syndicate leader until he decided to go legit. Fowl himself was on his way to becoming a major player when he also went legit." Mara turned towards Skuld. "But not before 'liberating' a large amount of Gold from 'The People'."

Skuld's eyes narrowed.

"'The People'?" Sayoko asked.

"Fairies." Skuld murmured, "He stole gold from the fairies."

"Like Morgan?" Sayoko asked, remembering the fairy princess with butterfly wings that had a thing for Keiichi.

"No." Mara replied, "Morgan can pass as a human."

"At least on Halloween she can." Skuld added.

"Well yeah." Mara conceded, "These fairies are smaller then a normal mortal. They are where your myths of dwarves, elves, pixies, and centaurs come from."

"Ok." Sayoko said, "So why haven't I ever heard of them before from you?"

"Because we don't talk about them." Skuld replied, a slight edge to her voice.

"These fairies sort of pissed off Heaven a number of years ago." Mara explained, "Since then……"

"Enough with the fairies." Skuld snapped, "Can we get back to O'Connell?"

"Oh right, O'Connell."

"Yes O'Connell." Skuld's eyes began to glow white. "Where is he?"

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O'Connell lifted a small submachine gun out from the trunk of the car and then slammed a magazine into it. He then pulled on a level, loading a shell into the chamber. He glanced over where several of his men were likewise loading weapons.

O'Connell smiled.

"Time to settle the account with Fowl."

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"What do you mean you don't know where he is?"

"Look," Mara growled, "This isn't Yggdrasil. I don't have info at the drop of a hat. We get a basic 'He's known to travel here' and that's it. Why do you think it took me months to track down Keiichi and Belldandy? His 'basic' location was Japan!" She brought up a map of Ireland. "At least this place is smaller then Japan."

Skuld sighed.

"I suppose." She grumbled. She then turned back towards the bowl on the table. She raised her hand over it once more. As she chanted, the liquid began to glow.

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Butler entered the room, practically kicking the door open, carrying several pistols.

"Trouble." He said, tossing one weapon to Juliet.

"Kelp is here?" Holly asked.

"No." Butler replied grimly, "O'Connell is. With friends." He stared at Artemis.

"Perhaps we should vacate the premises." Artemis replied, "I believe the basement is much more secure."

"Not the basement." Holly groaned.

Artemis started towards the door.

"That room no longer functions in that way." He said, knowing what Holly was referring to. "It has become…..something else."

"You're actually taking her there?" Butler asked.

Artemis glanced at Butler.

"We have little choice." He replied, "I assume you and Juliet will be alright?"

"We'll be fine." Butler said.

Juliet helped Sayoko off her lap and then knelt down.

"You need to go with Arty and Holly."

"Why?" Sayoko asked.

"Because bad men are coming."

"Hey wait a second." Holly said, "If we're under attack I can get help!"

"Uhhh Holly?" Foaly's voice came over her ear piece. "What are you doing?"

"Trouble can bring his squad up and……"

"SHORT!!!!" Root's voice screamed, "HAVE YOU GONE INSANE?!?!"

Holly tapped on her microphone.

"If we don't help," she said, "Then another Mud man will get their hands on a Goddess, and quite possibly me."

Silence.

"Trouble is on his way." Foaly finally said.

Juliet walked Sayoko over to Holly.

"Take care of her." Juliet whispered, "She's such a sweetheart."

Holly looked up at Juliet, about to protest again, saying she could help fight when the young goddess took her hand in hers. The elf looked at the goddess's pleading eyes.

"If anyone can defend her," Juliet said, "You can."

"Alright." Holly agreed, still staring at Sayoko.

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"There is still a problem." Artemis said, leading the way down the stairs.

"What?" Holly asked, following Artemis with Sayoko.

"Trouble and the other fairies don't have permission to enter here." He replied. He hesitated for a second, then spoke again. "Butler and Juliet may not………survive long enough to grant them access."

A loud thud was then heard from above, followed by the sounds of gunfire. Artemis paused to look up towards the ceiling, then started down the hall.

"Come on!" he shouted.

He led Holly and Sayoko through a doorway and into a room dominated on one side by what appeared to be a vault door. The Elf's eyes went wide.

"Is that…..?"

"Can we save this discussion for later?" Artemis asked. He tapped a code into a keypad beside the entrance to the room. A steel door slammed into place, sealing them into the room.

"That should hold them for awhile." Artemis said. He glanced over at Holly. "What about that help you mentioned?"

Holly listened to her earpiece. When she looked up at him again, her eyes held fear.

"Thirty minutes." She whispered.

Artemis paced the room a moment, glancing at the Goddess several times. Finally he paused before her.

"Sayoko," he said, "if there was ever a time for divine intervention, it would be now."

"What?" Sayoko replied, looking at him confused.

"Great job Mud Boy." Holly grumbled, "She's only five. Talk to her as such."

"She's a Goddess." Artemis replied with a slight growl, "She knows what I'm talking about."

"Well apparently she doesn't."

"She does."

"Doesn't!"

"Does!"

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O'Connell ducked as Fowl's bodyguard fired a shot at him. He responded by emptying a clip into the room. Butler dove behind a couch, bullets smacking into the wall behind him as well as into the couch. Then the female bodyguard appeared from around the corner and fired off several shots. Two of O'Connell's men went down. O'Connell growled as he reloaded his gun, then fired a burst towards the female.

Juliet ducked back behind the corner, the bullets tearing into the wall beside her. She was prepared to open fire again when she heard her brother shout.

Butler was on the floor, clutching his right shoulder. Juliet started towards him when something slammed into her leg, sending her to the floor. Then the pain came. She clinched her teeth together, trying to hold back her cry. She then realized she'd dropped her gun…….

Too late though.

O'Connell kicked the gun away from Juliet's hand and kept his own targeted on her head. Another man held Butler down at gunpoint. Several others quickly moved upstairs, searching for Fowl and the Goddess.

"Remember!" O'Connell called out, "We want them both alive! Search every room!"

He then looked down at Juliet and Butler.

"Unless you want to tell us where they are?"

Butler and Juliet only glared at O'Connell.

"Hey boss." O'Connell looked up at Baker. Baker nodded towards a back hall. "You gotta come see this."

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"We're here……again." Captain Trouble Kelp of the LEPrecon Rapid Response Team, stated.

"I hate this place."

Trouble let out a sigh and glanced over at his brother, Corporal Grub Kelp.

"Would you stuff it Corporal." He said, "Show some back bone!"

"But Mommy said……"

"Dammit Corporal! Our mother isn't here! I am! Now get it together!"

Kelp turned back towards the Manor. Several cars remained parked near the front door, and shadows could be seen moving past windows.

"Is Short still in there?" Kelp asked over the communicator.

"Yes." Came Foaly's reply, "She, Fowl, and the Goddess are locked in the basement. The big man and the girl were on the first floor."

"Knowing the big man he probably took a bunch of them with him." One of the RRTs said.

"Let's hope so." Kelp replied, "Because until they exit that house, we can't get to them."

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"Again!"

"Again!"

Mara opened an eye. From where she lay on the couch, she could see Skuld, still sending out the search spell.

"Skuld," Mara said softly, "You need to rest."

Skuld turned and glared at Mara.

"I'll rest when Yoko is home!" She turned back to the bowl.

"Again!"

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"So is the gold in there or not?"

Artemis sighed. Forty minutes had now passed. The gunfire had long stopped, but nothing had been heard from Butler nor Juliet.

"I thought we weren't going to discuss this." He then turned his head and glanced at Holly sitting beside him. "The People lost the gold to me fair and square. Let it go."

"The hell I will!" Holly shouted, "You know what happened afterward? I got stuck in pod watching Goblins!"

"Is that supposed to make me feel bad?"

"The sprite assigned with me kept hitting on me!"

"You say that like it was a bad thing."

"IT WAS!"

"Why?"

"Because……" Holly's voice trailed off. Why was it bad that Verbil Chix was hitting on her?

Oh yeah………

"He's annoying git!" Holly replied.

"Is that the only reason?" Artemis asked.

"Yes!"

"She's lying." Sayoko suddenly said.

Holly whirled about and stared at the Goddess. A smirk had appeared on Artemis' face. Suddenly a chance to tease the Elf had shown itself.

"Why Miss Short," Artemis said, "Could you possibly have your heart set on another?"

"No!" Holly exclaimed, her face beginning to turn red.

Artemis glanced over at Sayoko. She was sitting on a chair across from the door, kicking her legs.

"It's bad to lie." She stated.

"I don't believe this." Holly grumbled, "We're in deep trouble here and I'm getting the third degree about my love life!"

"You have a love life?" Foaly's voice came over the ear piece.

"SHUT UP FOALY!!" Holly whirled on Artemis. "What about you? Is there someone in your life?"

"Of course not." Artemis replied.

Holly looked over at Sayoko.

"Lying." The goddess stated.

The smirk vanished from Artemis' face as it appeared on Holly's.

"So Mister Fowl," Holly began, "Who's heart are you after?"

"I….er…." Artemis turned bright red.

He was saved from further questioning by a loud clang on the metal door. The three turned and stared at the door, listening as more bumps and scrapes came from the other side.

"They're trying to get in." Holly murmured.

"They can try all they want." Artemis replied, "That door is solid steel. We're perfectly fine here. Now if Kelp would get in here."

"He can't unless you invite him in." Holly replied, "And since you're trapped in here……."

Clank!

"What was that?" Artemis asked.

Holly perked up slightly.

"I hear beeping." She said.

"Beeping?" Artemis replied, "From where?"

Holly moved closer to the door and placed her ear against it. A steady beep sounded through the door.

"What could possibly make……." Her eyes went wide.

"BOMB!" she screamed. She ran at Artemis and pushed him away from the door. She had just started towards Sayoko when the bomb exploded.

Everything then went into slow motion for Artemis.

He watched in fascination as the door bowed inward before it tore away from the wall. Flames and debris trailed behind as the door became a deadly projectile. It hurtled towards the very chair Sayoko sat in. The Goddess' eyes went wide as she watched the door move closer.

Holly was able to reach Sayoko just before the door. She shoved the goddess with all her strength, sending the girl flying out of the way. The Elf's momentum was enough that she almost was clear of the door.

But not enough.

The door caught Holly's lower half and brought her along. Artemis winced as the door slammed against the wall, using Holly's lower body as a cushion.

Down in the LEPrecon control room, Foaly winced as every pain sensor on Holly went off.

The door crashed to the floor and Holly followed it. She lay still on the door. Artemis saw Sayoko's mouth open, but he heard no sound. Then after a moment he realized he did hear a sound, a ringing. The explosion must have temporarily deafened him.

Water then began to pour down from the ceiling as the sprinkler system finally reacted to the flames that had entered the room.

Artemis ran to the fallen Elf and knelt beside her. She was unconscious, but her face was twisted in a grimace. Blue healing sparks ran up and down her legs.

Faint footsteps reached his ears. He turned to see O'Connell entering the room, followed by several other men. All had weapons.

"Well Fowl." He said, his voice very faint to Artemis' ears, "It's time to discuss my payment."

"You!!!!"

O'Connell and Artemis both turned to the side. Sayoko had gotten back on her feet, her hair and clothes soaked from the sprinklers. Her eyes were glowing a bright white.

"You hurt Holly!" Sayoko shouted.

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"Again!"

"Again!"

Skuld sighed. Maybe Mara was right. She couldn't keep sending out the search spell indefinitely. She did need to rest at some…..

Skuld blinked and looked back at the bowl.

An image of Ireland had appeared within the liquid. A small red dot blinked back at her near Dublin.

"Again." Skuld said, just to be sure.

Ireland returned, as did the dot.

"MARA!"

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"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S HURT!?!?" Kelp shouted.

"Just that." Foaly's voice replied, "The last thing I heard was something about a bomb, then a close up of Fowl. Then the goddess, now nothing. Her pain sensors shot off the charts and now she's unconscious."

"We have to do something!" Kelp said, "We have to get in that Manor!"

"Holly is the only one with an open invitation." Foaly replied, "If you go in there….."

"I know!" Kelp growled, he paced about. "It's just so frustrating to stand out here and do….." His voice trailed off. He felt a sudden surge in magical energy, something he'd only felt during the ritual. He looked over to see his men were also looking at the house.

"Foaly," he said, "Something's happening. There's a surge of magic power coming from the house."

"Holly reported the same thing when the goddess crushed her Neutrino." The centaur replied, "It's probably her."

"But she's just a kid!" Kelp exclaimed, "If she's that strong, then what……" His voice trailed off again.

"I don't know how strong an adult goddess is." Foaly replied, not noticing Kelp had stopped speaking. "They range in strength due to rank. Kids are typically the lowest ranking."

"Umm Foaly." Trouble said with a slight gulp.

"What?"

"I think we're about to find out how strong an adult is."

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"YOU HURT HOLLY!!" Sayoko screamed.

The door rose from beside Artemis and the fallen Elf. It then spun around and hurtled towards O'Connell and his men. They dove out of the way, landing in the standing water with a splash. The door slammed into the exterior basement wall and wedged itself deep in the masonry.

"You know," O'Connell said, "you've caused me a lot of problems. Maybe I should just kill you. It will save me the trouble of worrying wither I'll get hit by something." He leveled the gun at Sayoko. "Or….." He turned it towards Artemis. "Maybe I'll just shoot you."

"NO!!!!" Sayoko screamed.

Artemis stared at O'Connell as the man smirked and pulled the trigger. Then something distracted him, which is saying something. After all, he was about to be shot.

The floor was glowing behind O'Connell and his men. To be more specific, an area of standing water began to glow and a woman was rising out of it. Her face bore similar markings to Sayoko. She had jet black hair and wore red and white robes. She was also armed with what appeared to be a croquet mallet.

She also seemed quite pissed if her glowing eyes were any indication.

O'Connell's gun roared, yet no bullets hit Artemis. A blue shield flared before him, deflecting the bullets.

"What…?" O'Connell stared at Artemis, stunned. "How…?"

"You're in deep shit buddy."

O'Connell and his men turned around. They found themselves face to face with the elder Goddess, as well as a blond haired woman with red markings on her face. The blond haired woman pointed at O'Connell.

"You kidnapped a Goddess." she said, "a child at that. You lost any sympathy you had with Heaven. It's hell for you."

"But first," the black haired Goddess said, twirling her mallet, "I'm going to work out a bit of frustration." She raised her mallet and charged.

It was over minutes later.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Holly opened her eyes and found herself looking up at blue fabric. She blinked several times and looked around. She was laying in a four-poster bed with a canopy over it. Her uniform was draped over a chair near to the bed. There was a fireplace in the room. Over it was a painting of a father, mother, and a child. Holly's eyes narrowed as she recognized the child.

It was Artemis Fowl.

She was still in Fowl Manor and, judging by the way the window curtains glowed, it was daylight outside. She wouldn't be returning to Haven anytime soon.

She tried to remember what had happened. She remembered the bomb exploding, and her pushing Artemis and then Sayoko out of the way. Then came a heavy impact, followed by pain, then nothing. Her legs still ached slightly. What bothered her though was the feeling of a powerful being, perhaps two, nearby.

The door to the room opened, allowing Juliet to enter. She walked with a slight hobble.

"Good to see you awake." Juliet said, "We were worried about you, even though she said you'd be fine."

Holly blinked.

"Who said I'd be fine?"

"Oh I forgot." Juliet said, "That's a surprise."

"A surprise?" Holly asked, her eyebrow slightly raised.

Juliet just smiled.

"Oh, before I forget. Your Commander Root knows you're still here. He left a Captain Kelp to wait here with you." The mud woman shrugged. "For some reason he just doesn't trust Artemis."

"Would you trust him if he had kidnapped you?" Holly asked.

"I know he regrets it." Juliet replied.

"Somehow I doubt that." Holly muttered.

"You haven't been around him since then, so of course you can't see a difference." Juliet said, "I have. He gets very quiet when the fairies are mentioned, more so when your name is spoken."

Juliet headed towards the door.

"I'll let you get dressed." She said, "Your Captain Kelp is waiting in the hall." She closed the door behind her.

Holly quickly pulled her uniform on and headed out of the room. Just as Juliet said, Trouble Kelp was waiting in the hall.

"Good to see you up and about." He said with a smile.

"About time you got here Trouble." Holly replied, "Of course you always arrived after the action."

Trouble shook his head.

"Only when it's you." He said, "You never wait for back-up."

"So why are you still here?" Holly asked, "Why am I still here?"

Trouble led her down the hall.

"You were banged up pretty bad Holly." He said, "Even with your magic, you weren't quite healed."

Holly frowned.

"But other then a few aches I feel fine." She said, "As well as the fact I feel full of energy, like I just completed the Ritual."

"That would be because of her." Trouble replied, as they walked down the stairs, "She finished your healing, as well as refilling you with magic."

Holly's frown deepened. They were now just outside the living room.

"You're the second one to refer to a 'her'. Just who is 'she'?"

Trouble gave a weak smile, then opened the door and entered the living room. Holly followed. She quickly spotted Fowl. He was seated, flanked on either side by Butler and Juliet. He seemed very nervous and seemed more interested in the fireplace then the person across from him. Sitting there was a black haired woman. Her face bore similar markings as Sayoko, and she wore red and white robes. Standing behind her was a blond haired woman all dressed in black leather. Red markings adorned her face. Sayoko was sitting in the black haired woman's lap, chatting with her. The young goddess spotted Holly and Trouble as they entered. Her eyes widened.

"Holly!" she shouted.

The black haired woman looked over at the elves.

"Hello Captain Short." She said in gnomish, "Hello again Captain Kelp."

"Holly, " Trouble began, "This is Skuld, Goddess Second Class. This," he indicated the blond. "is Mara, Demoness first class."

Holly stared at the Goddesses and Demon, stunned. She could feel the presence of both dark and light energy. Why the two were together, she didn't know.

She also decided now was not a good time to asked.

"Ma'am. Ma'am." Holly nodded her head to each of them.

The goddess stared at Holly for what seemed like minutes. Holly gulped. The elder Goddess's eyes bored into her, just as Sayoko's had done. The things that Root had told her and Foaly went through her mind. She wondered exactly what this Goddess would do or say to her and Trouble.

Skuld whispered something to Sayoko in a language she didn't recognize, which was saying something because The People knew all languages. Sayoko hopped off of Skuld's lap, allowing Skuld to stand. The elder Goddess walked over to Holly and Trouble. She looked down at Holly, causing the elf to get very nervous. Then she did something totally unexpected.

Skuld dropped to her knees and embraced Holly.

"Thank you Captain," she said, "Thank you for saving my niece."

Holly blinked.

"Niece?" she asked.

Skuld released Holly, but remained on her knees.

"Yes," Skuld said, "My sister and her husband died, leaving me to raise her."

"Why are you thanking me though?" Holly asked, "I didn't……."

"Mister Fowl has already received my thanks for rescuing her from O'Connell." The Goddess said, glancing over her shoulder at the boy. She turned back to the Elf. "You however risked your life to save her, as well as Fowl's life. That is why you are being thanked."

"Oh." Holly replied, blushing, "Your welcome."

Skuld stood up and glanced over at Fowl.

"We'll be leaving now Mister Fowl." She said, "Please remember what I told you."

"Bye Holly!" Sayoko called out, "Bye Juliet! Bye Butler! Bye Trouble! Bye Arty!"

Artemis flinched at being called Arty, but otherwise didn't move.

The two Goddesses and Mara started towards the door. Skuld paused just before exiting to look back at the Elves.

"Fairies haven't been thought of very highly in Heaven for many hundreds of years." She said, "I am glad to say, that will change, at least amongst my family." She left, closing the door behind her.

Holly glanced over at Trouble. He too, appeared stunned at the Goddess's words. Holly was about to say something to Trouble, when something the goddess said just before her comments to the fairies registered. She slowly turned towards Artemis, who still seemed interested in the fireplace. Seeing that the mud boy wasn't going to look in her direction anytime soon, she looked at the bodyguards.

"What exactly did she say to him?" she asked.

Both Butler and Juliet smirked.

"Quite simply," Butler said, "She said that 'they are watching'."

"She also offered Artemis some personal advice." Juliet added.

"What kind of personal advice?" Holly asked, her curiosity rising.

"Well she….."

"It is none of her concern!" Artemis snapped, finally looking towards the others.

Holly took a step back. Never had she heard Artemis this angry. He had always been in complete control of his emotions.

Whatever Skuld had said to him had affected him greatly.

"But Artemis," Juliet protested, "She said……"

"No!" Artemis snapped, "Say nothing!" He then stormed out of the room.

Bodyguards and Elves stared at each other for several minutes in silence. Then the slam of a door reached them from upstairs.

"You are welcome to stay until nightfall." Juliet said, "Artemis will most likely remain in his room."

"Alright." Holly said, "But what happened to those other Mud Men?"

"Oh, them." Butler rubbed his head. "It seems the Demoness sent them away."

"Away?"

"Siberia." Trouble stated.

Holly blinked.

"Well I suppose that is definitely away."

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That evening as soon as the last rays of the sun had vanished, Holly and Trouble prepared to leave.

Holly looked up the stairs, half expecting and hoping Artemis would be there.

But he wasn't.

Trouble saw her constant glances and sighed.

"Holly," he said, "if you want to say good-bye to the Mud Boy, don't let me stop you."

"But the Commander…." She began.

"Root isn't here Holly." Trouble stated, "And he isn't listening in. Neither is Foaly."

Holly looked up the stairs.

"Are you…."

"Holly I swear, if you don't go up there, I will shoot you."

Holly looked at Trouble with wide eyes, realizing that he was serious. She turned and quickly ran up the stairs.

"That was rather sweet of you."

Trouble turned to see Juliet standing just in a door way to the hall.

"Yeah well," Trouble muttered, "If she didn't go, she'd be thinking about it all the way back, then it'd interfere with her work and….."

Juliet smiled. "Your secret is safe with me."

Trouble looked at the Mud Girl.

"Wha…??"

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Holly found Artemis in his room, staring blankly at his computer.

"Hey Mud Boy." Holly said, "I'm leaving."

"Oh?" Artemis replied, seemingly uninterested.

Holly frowned.

"Just what is the matter with you?" she asked, "Just what personal advice did that Goddess give you anyway?!?!"

Artemis glared at her from the corner of his eyes.

"It was personal." Artemis snapped, "VERY personal."

"And that got your undies all in a bunch?"

Artemis turned back to his computer.

"If all you're going to do is annoy me, you can just leave."

Holly stared at Artemis in shock. She then glared at the boy genius.

"Fine." She turned and stormed out of the room.

Minutes went by, then Artemis heard the distinct footsteps of Butler.

"I don't suppose you know the reason that Captain Short left in such a mood?" Butler asked.

"Perhaps it is that time of the month." Artemis replied.

"Somehow I doubt that." Butler moved to stand just behind Artemis. "What are you looking at?"

"Research." Artemis replied.

"On?"

"Do you believe it is possible to see the future?"

Butler leaned back.

"I've known you for sometime now." He said, "So when you ask if I think it's possible, you've already determined it to be so."

Artemis nodded.

"Indeed it is my old friend." He turned and brought up an image taken the night before. Butler easily identified it as an image of the Goddess Skuld. "She can see it."

Butler looked at his charge curiously.

"How do you know?"

"Her name," Artemis replied, "is that of the Norn of the Future. That would make her one of the three Norse fates."

"Fates?"

"Past, Present, and Future." Artemis replied, "Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld." He counted them off with his fingers as he named them. "Skuld claimed Sayoko as her niece, thus her niece is also a Norn, and heir to her late mother's title."

Butler remained silent. He and the others present had been surprised when the Goddess had mentioned the death of her sister.

"How do you know she is the heir to her mother's title?" Butler asked.

"You saw the markings on Sayoko's and Skuld's faces?"

Butler nodded, "Hard not to notice them."

"Sayoko said her last name was Morisato." Artemis stated, "She also gave her home as Nekomi." He typed a command into his computer. A picture appeared on the screen of a college age couple, wearing matching jumpsuits, standing beside a racing motorcycle.

"Keiichi and Belldandy Morisato." Artemis said softly, "About 1997 or so. Note her face."

Butler leaned forward. The woman was extremely beautiful and looked like a much older Sayoko. On her face were the same markings that her child wore. Butler turned and looked at his charge.

"They are the same. But I thought you said the mother would be Verdandi?"

Artemis shrugged.

"A mispronunciation of her name perhaps?." He replied, "Who knows for sure, but have you noticed the oddity in this photo?"

Butler frowned and looked at the photo again.

"Look at the man." Artemis hinted.

Butler looked at the person named as Keiichi Morisato. He seemed to be your typical Japanese male, not extremely tall, average build, short black hair……..then he frowned.

"He's not a God?" Butler asked.

Artemis nodded.

"No markings."

"Which means….." Butler said slowly, now understanding.

"Sayoko Morisato is half mortal, half goddess." Artemis stated.

"What do you intend to do with this knowledge?" Butler asked.

Artemis sighed. "Another time, I would have exploited this to my gain. But now……."

"What did she tell you?" Butler asked, referring to what Skuld had said.

"It…….I……." Artemis stuttered.

Butler decided to make a wild guess.

"Was it about Holly?"

Artemis seemed to deflate.

"That's why you drove her off." Butler said, "To keep her away."

Artemis remained silent for several minutes.

"Skuld said she would keep an eye on me." Artemis said finally, "Until recently, she would have seen the acts of a criminal." He finally turned and looked at Butler, his face showing his usual smirk. "It's time we went straight."

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Skuld stared at the building that had been her home for so long. The temple caretaker's home had housed her sisters, Keiichi, Sayoko, and even Megumi for a time. The ocean had been slowly creeping up towards the temple complex ever since second impact. In a few more years, the ocean would be lapping at the front door.

The Goddess decided that the time had come.

"You're leaving?" Chihiro repeated, stunned.

"Yes." Skuld said softly, "There's just too many memories here."

"Where will you go?"

"Tokyo 2." Skuld replied.

"That's pretty far from here." Chihiro pointed out.

"Yeah," Skuld replied, "it is. But it's close to where they are."

Chihiro nodded.

"You need help packing?"

"Help Yoko." Skuld said, "I'll come in a moment."

Chihiro nodded, then entered the house.

Skuld waited until she was completely gone before dropping to one knee and speaking.

"Yes Father?"

Kami-sama appeared before her. Skuld kept her head bowed low.

"Rise." He commanded.

Skuld stood up and looked up at her father.

"I wish you had passed on to me that she was missing." He said.

"She was left in my care." Skuld replied, "Peorth helped all that she could. All that could be done was."

Kami-sama nodded.

"I shall accept that." He said, "Am I also to understand that fairies were involved?"

Skuld's eyes widened.

"How did you…..?"

"I know." Kami-sama replied, "No one else other then Mara knows of the fairies involvement. It can remain that way for now."

"But what about….."

"The Council is still the same as it was when the division happened." Kami-sama said softly, "Even if we tell them of this, they will still reject the Fairies, as well as question your actions regarding Sayoko." Kami-sama sighed. "For now let it go. There will be plenty of time in the future to bring up the fairy question."

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"So what was bothering Fowl?" Trouble asked as he and Holly headed towards the Commander's office.

"I don't want to talk about it." Holly snapped.

"That bad?"

"I said I don't want to talk about it!!"

Trouble raised his hands in surrender.

"Alright alright!" he exclaimed as they entered the Commander's office.

Root was sitting behind his desk, puffing heavily on a cigar as he stared at his desk. Besides Holly and Trouble, Foaly and the rest of Trouble's squad were present.

"Close the door." Root ordered. As soon as the door closed, Root looked up at all present.

"As far as we are concerned," he said, "This incident with the Goddess never happened."

"What?!?!" came several shouts.

"First off it was a non-sanctioned mission." Root said, "The Council has no idea what occurred."

"But surely if we tell them……" Holly began.

"Tell them what?" Root asked, "that LEP saved a Goddess with Fowl's help? They're still sour about the Mud Boy, as are many of us. But even talking about the Gods……..that's taboo and a big sore spot in the council."

"Just how long ago was the rift, Sir?" Trouble asked.

"Around a thousand years or so," Foaly replied, "Give or take several hundred years."

"The last time a God or Goddess was here was around the fifteen hundreds." Root stated, "And it didn't go well. The Council members have long memories." He sighed, "Even if only a few of them were present for the original incident, most of the rest know of the second incident."

Holly raised a hand. "Can we ask what happened, Sir?"

"It wasn't pretty." Root replied, "Let's just say one of the Council Members said something he shouldn't have, and paid for it." Root stood up. "Alright. As I said, this mission never happened. If anyone asks, we were doing a surveillance on the Fowl manor. Dismissed."

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One Month later.

A scream shattered the silence of the apartment in Tokyo-2.

Skuld was on her feet in seconds and raced into Sayoko's bedroom. She found her neice, huddled under the covers, her eyes wide as she shook in fear. Skuld quickly sat on the bed beside her neice and even before her arms had fully opened, Sayoko had leaped into them for comfort.

"It's ok." Skuld whispered softly as she rubbed the young Goddess' back. "I'm here. No one's going to get you."

Sayoko let out a soft whimper as she buried her face into Skuld's nightgown.

They remained like that for sometime before they both fell asleep.

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"They haven't ended." Skuld said as she sat in the kitchen, watching Sayoko play in the living room. "If anything, they've gotten worse."

Peorth nodded her head sadly. "She, like us, remembers everyone and thing we encounter. It can be a blessing…….and a curse."

"This is definitely a curse." Skuld said, "She can't sleep because of that…..that….that man!"

"I hear Mara's made his life hell."

"I had a far worse fate in mind…….."

"But you're a Goddess and……"

"….Belldandy taught me better then that/" Skuld sighed.

The two Goddesses sat in silence for several minutes, staring at Sayoko.

"Have you thought about….." Peorth hesitated.

Skuld frowned. "Thought about what?"

"I'm sure Kami-sama wouild approve……"

"Approve what Peorth?"

"Removing…..Sayoko's memories of the incident."

Skuld was on her feet in seconds.

"ARE YOU NUTS?!?!" she shouted, cuasing Sayoko to jump in the other room. "THAT'S THE STUPIDEST THING I'VE HEARD YET!!!!"

"It worked for Belldandy." Peorth hissed.

"And we all know how THAT ended!" Skuld snapped. "Besides, this is diferent! Sayoko isn't catatonic!"

"No, she isn't." Peorth replied in an even tone. "But even I can see the stress the situation is putting on her…..and you."

Skuld blinked as she sat back down. "Me?"

"When was the last time you got a good nights sleep?" Peorth asked softly. She then pointed to the garbage can filled with empty ice cream tubs. "You've been hitting 31 flavors again too."

Skuld sighed and stared at the table top.

"I don't…….Belldandy told me she didn't like what had happened to her. She knew it was nessicary, but if given a choice, she'd rather have had her memories. If I can help Sayoko get past this……..I want to do so, before trying that method."

Peorth nodded. "I understand."

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For a time, the mission was forgotten as other events soon eclipsed it. Fowl's Eternity cube and his subsequent mind wipe occurred soon thereafter. Fowl, having no memory of either the fairies nor the Goddess returned to his life of crime. 

_In Haven, Opal Koboi escaped from the Mental Hospital. She of course, sought revenge against those who had ruined her plans, namely Fowl, Short, Root, and Foaly. Sadly, she succeeded in killing Root, and nearly killed Fowl and Short. It was only through the efforts of Fowl, Short, Butler, and the Dwarf Mulch, that her plans for revealing Haven to the Mud Men failed._

_This also marked the last time that Holly Short would be apart of LEPrecon. She left following a confrontation with the new Commander Sool._

_She and Fowl maintained contact through rather…..less then legal means. Fowl returned to a normal and legal life, while Short and Mulch formed a detective agency with the aims to help those that the LEP under Sool wouldn't._

_As for the Goddess Sayoko, she progressed from child into teen. Not much is known of this time as we had no survalience on her. We now know that she became one of the pilots for the Evangelions, fighting the beings known as Angels which had attacked the Earth. Rather odd considering the Angels were believed to have been sent by Heaven in the first place. She survived the battles and moved from teen to young adult._

_Then came the first of many difficult trials for her._

_She told, in interviews many years after the fact, how the Heavens came to be invaded by a rogue Demon army. She herself had been grievously injured twice before the threat was eliminated. She also sustained injury after facing a down a more powerful rogue God._

_It was only through the timely intervention of her family in Heaven that she survived._

_- Prof J. Argon, Brotherhood of Psychologists_

_Commissioned by the Lower Elements Police_

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2023 (Post – The Opal Deception, Post-The Lost Colony, Post – Neon Genesis Goddess R)

Twenty-nine Artemis Fowl II (actually concidering his time travel experience, he was only twenty-six) sat silently behind the desk in his den, staring out the window. The sun was shining down on the Irish country-side, but that hadn't been the case just days ago. Something had plunged the entire planet into darkness and no one had a clue what.

Not even the genius mind of Artemis Fowl. And that bothered him.

Since Opal Koboi's attempt at revealing Haven to the Mudmen and the rescuing the entire Eighth Family from a time-warp, Artemis had successfully graduated from his private school and gone on to Oxford. He had graduated from there with Honors. His parents, of course, were very proud and had been present at his graduation ceremony, as had Butler, Juliet and, as scary as it sounded, Minerva Paradizo. But it was the presence of a fifth person that had made that day even more special. Holly Short had been there.

He'd kept in touch with her sincereturning from Hybras, but face to face meetings had been all but impossible. His graduation had been one of the few times she'd been able to come to the surface. She'd watched the ceremony sitting on a rafter near the top of the hall. Later that night, Holly had joined in a small party consisting of herself, Artemis, Butler, and Juliet.

That was the last time he'd seen her.

The door to his den opened. Light footsteps announced the presence of Juliet. The younger Butler sibling had become Artemis' primary bodyguard. The elder Butler now traveled alongside Artemis' parents.

Juliet walked up to the desk and waited.

"Well?" Artemis asked, keeping his gaze towards the window.

"According to the news," Juliet began, "the UN launched the EVAs to fight whatever caused the darkness."

"They obviously succeeded."

"They did, but the EVAs have been destroyed."

Artemis turned and finally looked at Juliet.

"The pilots?"

"They survived."

Artemis smirked. "So there's still a chance you can get their autographs eh?"

Juliet blushed slightly. Finding out the identity of the EVA pilots had been a little project of Juliet's for the past eight years. The UN had kept the pilots names a secret, mostly due to the terrorist groups that still wished them harm.

Artemis turned and looked back out the window.

"Perhaps someday we'll know what happened." He said wistfully, "Until then, all we can do is guess."

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Commander Vinyaya paced in the operations room of Section Eight. Behind her, Foaly typed frantically away. The reason for his frantic typing was simple.

Something had happened that he couldn't explain.

And he needed that explination.

It could tarnish his image as a Genius if he couldn't solve this mystery.

"Foaly?"

"Sorry Commander."

"Don't be. Tell me what you found out?"

"Nothing."

Vinyaya blinked.

"Nothing!?!?!"

Foaly sighed.

"The Mud Men have no clue what caused that week of darkness." He said, "The only thing that is odd is that the UN has stated that all their Evangelions were lost in an operation." He looked up at the Commander. "Lost the same day the darkness lifted."

"Find out why those Evangelions were deployed." The Commander said, "There must be some reason for the Darkness."

"I don't see what the big fuss is about." Foaly grumbled, "After all, it's not like we actually see the sky."

"Foaly," Vinyaya began, "What would happen if that darkness returned during a full moon?"

"I am a genius." Foaly replied, "Should it happen again, longer, Fairies would be unable to replenish their magic. Without their magic……" Foaly shuddered.

"Exactly." Sool replied, ""The Council wants to know what happened. The people want to know what happened. I want to know what happened. And I'm pretty sure YOU want to know what happened. And since the LEP is concerned with the missing faries, Section Eight gets this."

"I'm looking." Foaly said, "I'm looking all over the internet, in Interpol, in the NSA, CIA, Russian Intelligence, Mossad, the Pentagon, MI6, the UN, every single group I can think of….." Vinyaya resumed her pacing. "…..there just isn't any……oh hello."

Vinyaya stopped and looked at Foaly.

"What?"

"I …uh….forgot a system."

Vinyaya looked at Foaly curiously.

"You…..what?!"

"I….I forgot about the NORN system in Tokyo 2."

"The Evangelions were based in Tokyo 2." Vinyaya grumbled, "As is the NORN if I'm not mistaken, so how could you forget it."

"I haven't been able to access it."

Vinyaya frowned.

"We've spent a lot of gold getting you the best electronics we have in Haven. How is it you can't get into a Mudman system? I thought you were a genius?"

"I am." Foaly replied defensively, "but so was Koboi! And look how long she led us all on! This system was created by a Mud woman genius. It's based off of the Mudman mind!"

"So Mudmen are smarter then you?"Vinyaya said with a grin.

"Yes…no….I mean…" Foaly sighed, "This is a more advanced version of the MAGI system of Tokyo 3. And you remember what happened when I tried to access that!"

Vinyaya paled. It had been a complete disaster. The MAGI system had immediately blocked them out with a firewall, then tried to access their computers. Foaly's attempts to block it failed, and he ended up grabbing Holly's Neutrino to shoot the system.

All because Foaly had been interested in finding out who the pilots of the EVAs were.

It had taken a month to get the computers up and running again.

"Fine." Vinyaya said, "But I expect you to exhaust all other options."

She then turned and left the room. Foaly stared at the door a moment.

"I almost miss having a Commander that calls me a 'dumb horse'." He murmured. He then shook his head. "What in the name of Frond am I thinking?!"

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Heavens

Skuld sighed.

"What's wrong Auntie?"

Skuld glanced up at her twenty two year old niece, Sayoko. The young Goddess' arm was heavily bandaged and she was also sporting several bruises.

"Look around you Sayoko." Skuld grumbled, indicating the room with her hands. "Tell me what's wrong with this picture."

Sayoko looked around her. The entire control room of the world computer, Yggdrasil, was in shambles. Scorched terminals, shattered screens, debris littering the floors…….

The control room was a complete disaster.

Sayoko looked back at her Aunt.

"Yeah," she said, "so the Demons had a bit of fun in here."

Over a week before, a renegade force of Demons, numbering just over half of the entire Demon population of Hell, invaded and conquered the Heavens, plunging the mortal world into darkness. It was only because of the few Gods and Goddesses that had escaped, as well as the other half of the Demon population, led by the Demon Queen, that the Heavens were retaken.

But at a heavy price in life.

"A bit of fun?" Skuld replied sarcastically, "Most of the terminals in here don't work. Those that do are being held together by electrical tape and a prayer." Skuld looked over her shoulder. "Then there's the SysOp terminal….."

Sayoko looked over to the SysOp area. Her Aunt Urd had the terminal lid propped up and was working on the circuit boards. At the base, another panel was open with a pair of legs sticking out. Even though she'd never really studied another Goddess's legs (she wasn't that kind of Goddess), she recognized Peorth's boots.

"……Urd and Peorth have been at it for a week." Skuld muttered, "The Panel still isn't operating right. They keep tripping alarms."

Sayoko shrugged.

"Doesn't sound so bad."

Skuld's eyes narrowed.

"The End of the World alarms?"

"Ok so it is that bad."

Skuld turned back to the Admin terminal. She typed for a moment, then turned around to face Sayoko again.

"What are you doing up here anyway?" she asked, "I thought the medics told you to relax."

In a pitched battle, Sayoko had taken on the turncoat God Loki, Class 0. Only a First Class Goddess, Sayoko had almost been killed, saved only when Peorth and Urd activated Gungir and destroyed Loki.

"They did." Sayoko replied, "And I tried. But could you relax with your mother hovering over you constantly?"

Sayoko's mother, Belldandy, and her father, Keiichi, both of whom had been thought dead for over ten years, had been 'saved' a year previous from their prison inside the core of an Evangelion.

"She missed you while she was gone." Skuld pointed out, "She wasn't there when you got sick or hurt."

"I know I know." Sayoko grumbled, "But she's driving me nuts."

"She loves you."

"If she didn't I'd be very concerned."

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Haven

Section Eight.

Foaly typed away, looking very bored. He'd searched and search the internet, but still hadn't found a proper answer to why the sky had gone black.

The centaur then sat up and frowned.

"What the….." he murmured.

He'd just found a network he'd never seen before. Foaly could have sworn he knew all the major computer systems, Fairy and Mudman. How this one had remained hidden for so long……

He quickly typed a few commands into his terminal to access the mysterious network.

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Heavens

Alarms blared all over the control room.

Skuld suppressed a groan of frustration as she looked over at the SysOp station. Urd brought the lid down and typed hesitantly at the terminal.

"Well?" Skuld asked.

"I'm checking!" Urd replied.

Skuld rolled her eyes and looked over at Chrono. The Admin had dropped what she had been doing and practically leaped into one of the only functioning Admin terminals.

"Unauthorized access to Yggdrasil detected!" Chrono called out.

Skuld looked back to the SysOp terminal.

"What did Peorth screw up now?"

"HEY!" came the indignant shout from under the terminal.

"She didn't." Urd replied, "This is real." She looked at Chrono. "Track it. I want to know who, what, and where."

"Yes Ma'am."

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Haven

Foaly frowned.

The characters flashing across his screen meant absolutely nothing to him. In fact, they were just plan gibberish. Meaning either they were coded, or this Mud Man server was flat out screwed up.

He quickly brought up his translation program. If it was coded, the program would easily crack it using the entire Fairy database to translate.

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Heaven

"It's coming from Earth."

"Well duh. Where else would it come from?"

"Aliens?"

"You wish."

Urd typed away at the terminal. The main screen lit up, showing the trace they were performing.

"Whoever it is, they're good." Skuld grumbled, "The signal has bounced all over Europe and through North America at least twice."

"We'll get them shortly." Urd said confidently.

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Haven

Alarms screamed all over Section Eight.

Foaly's mouth dropped in shock.

Someone was actually trying to trace him!

His hands quickly flew over the keyboard as Commander Vinyaya ran in.

"What in Frond's name is going on?" She shouted.

"I found a network I'd never seen before." Foaly replied, "So I accessed it. It was coded, so I began to decode it. Now they are trying to trace me."

Vinyaya paled.

"Will they find Haven?"

"Doubtful." Foaly replied, "I'm bouncing the signal all over the surface. No Mud Man would……" A chime cut him off.

Foaly turned and looked at his display……

…and went completely pale.

"Oh Frond!" he groaned.

"What?" Vinyaya asked.

"D'Avrit!! D'Avrit!" Foaly swore as he raced to a newly installed circuit box on the wall. He practically tore the door off it's hinges as he yanked it open. He then slapped his hand down on every breaker present, plunging the room into darkness. Slowly the whine of the computers began to fade.

"Foaly." The Commander's voice was very low and dangerous. "Just what in the hell did you do?"

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Heaven

"He's gone." Urd said.

Skuld frowned.

"The trace almost had him." She growled, "What a chicken shit."

"Language!" Peorth shouted as her head popped out from under the SysOp terminal.

"You've said worse!"

"Not in front of Kami-sama!"

"I didn't say….." Skuld's voice trailed off, "In front of who?"

"Me."

Skuld paled at the voice. She slowly turned around and gave her father a weak smile.

"Uh….hi Daddy."

Sayoko covered her mouth with her hand, trying to keep Skuld from seeing and hearing the giggle that was escaping from her.


	7. Chapter 6

The Following has been ReEdited.

I read 'The Lost Colony' a few months back and put this story on hold as I tried to decide how to proceed.

I have now decided to add in the bits from that book, as well as a few of the characters.

Chapter 6

Somewhere under China

Argus Underhill, heir to one of the oldest and riches Fairy Families, walked into the control room of his specially built base. Around him were various elves, pixies, and dwarves making final adjustments to the equipment. All but one moved about mechanically. The mechanical ones had dazed looks on their faces as they moved about.

"Well?" he called out, "Are we ready?"

"Uh," a pixie named Trance, the only one that seemed normal, stepped forward, blinking her unusual red eyes nervously. "We still aren't sure……."

Underhill glared at the pixie, his red eyes boring into her.

"Are. We. Ready?" Underhill growled.

"Yes sir!" Trance quickly said.

Underhill walked across the room and sat his corpulent body into the cushioned chair set in the middle of the room.

"Then let's begin……."

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"I can't believe….so stupid…."

Foaly watched as Commander Vinyaya paced about the room. She was very angry, far angryer then the centur had ever seen. Finally she turned and glared at Foaly.

"I should fire you." She stated.

"You wouldn't." Foaly replied, "I'm too useful."

"I could always get Opal Koboi!"

Foaly paled slightly.

"But she's a criminal! A murderer!" the centaur replied, "and a slight egomaniac!" He added as an afterthought.

"So?"

"I'm sorry!" Foaly pleaded, "I didn't think they'd be able to trace us that far!"

Vinyaya sighed.

"The Council may not see it that way." She said, "You'll be lucky if they don't……."

The lights in the room flicked, cuasing them to look up.

"Is it the Mud Men?" Vinyaya asked.

Foaly typed away on his computer.

"No." he whispered, "It's something else." He looked back up at the screen. "and we're not the only ones getting it."

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All over Haven and the surface world, televisions, computer screens, radios, phones, communicators all crackled to life, or if already activated, cut off the users. An image flashed into existence, one of a small man with dark red hair and piercing red eyes.

"Greetings," he began in Mud Man, "I'm sure you are all wondering just who I am. Well to put it directly, I am your new Ruler."

The man grinned. "Now I'm sure there are a bunch of you who are saying 'Yeah right. This guy's a nutcase.' Well let me put it into prospective for you." The man hit a button off screen. An image of a city appeared over his right shoulder.

"Behold, St Petersburg Russia. A quaint little city. Great museums full of art, fantastic architecture." The man sighed. "A pity."

The city vanished in a massive mushroom cloud. As the cloud expanded, Haven rocked. Loose rocks tumbling from the ceiling so high above. Several of the rocks slammed into buildings, crashing through multiple floors. Fairies all over Haven screamed and raced for cover.

"Know this!" the man said, "I give the UN one week to surrender to me. For each day afterward you do not fall before me, another city shall fall!" The man then switched languages to Gnomish. "And no matter what happens above ground, The People of Haven will bow before me, or die."

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Tokyo-2, Japan

UN base

Commander Misato Ryoji stared at her monitor. Beside her, her red-headed assistant ranted.

"He can't be serious!" Asuka Sohryu shouted, "Like hell we'd bow to him!"

"You'd be surprised," Misato replied, "how many people want to avoid being nuked."

"I thought Nuclear weapons were gone." Asuka growled.

"They were all replaced by N2 weapons." Misato said, "Mostly after several nukes got launched in the chaos after Second Impact. Or did you forget why Old Tokyo glows in the dark?"

"I didn't forget." Asuka mumbled, "But how did he get his hands on one. And does he really have enough to carry out his threat?"

"That's the fifty million yen question now isn't it?" Misato replied. She let out a long sigh. "I suppose we should get Rits to have the NORN do a search, see where this guy is broadcasting from." She tapped her fingers on her desk. "Might as well also run a check on missing nukes."

"That's going to be a job." Asuka said, "They've never had a full accounting of where all the old Soviet Nukes went."

"I think the Russians regret that now." Misato mused. She glanced over at Asuka. "You think the people upstairs know about this? I didn't catch exactly what he said at the end."

Asuka blinked.

"Considering three of them live in the city, I'm willing to believe at least one knows."

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"We saw it Bell." Urd's voice came over the phone.

Belldandy Morisato, Goddess Class Zero, member of the Council of Heaven, stood in her kitchen in Tokyo-2, holding the phone against her ear with her shoulder as she made lunch.

"What are we going to do about it?" Belldandy asked.

"Father is calling for a council meeting later today." Urd replied, "I assume you'll be up here."

"Of course."

"As to the rest, there's some consideration of letting it go."

"What?!" Belldandy said, shocked, "Why would they let it go?"

"Because it's a mortal thing, as Saturn puts it."

Belldandy's eyes narrowed.

"Did he or did he not catch that last sentence that man spoke?"

"You mean where he mentioned Heaven?" Urd asked.

"Urd, he said Haven, not Heaven."

"Where and what is Haven? And what language was he speaking anyway?"

"Gnomish." Belldandy stated. "He spoke Gnomish."

"The fairy language?" Urd asked, "Why would he speak Gnomish?"

"Because," Belldandy replied, "He's……."

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"……a fairy."

The Haven Council stared in shock at the LEPrecon Commander Trouble Kelp.

"A fairy!?" A Council member shouted, "A fairy, revealing themselves to Mud Men!"

"Not only that," added a Second Council member, "But threatening us with the Mud Men weapons."

"We don't believe that the Mud Men realize his true nature." Trouble said, wondering again just how he got stuck with this job, "It was only after careful analysis that we were able to just barely see that his ears were Elf ears. As to threatening us with Mud Man weapons, such things have occurred before."

"I find it hard to believe that a Fairy would be able to get their hands on Nuclear weapons." A Council member said, "Surely they are working with a Mud Man as Koboi did?"

"Opal Koboi used two different Mud Men." Trouble stated, "as well as Cudgeon, and an entire triad of Goblins. Both Mud Men have been under surveillance, as has Koboi. However, I do agree that the acquisition of Nuclear weapons does seem a bit beyond what a fairy is capable of."

"Do we even know who this fairy is?"

Trouble looked down at the paper before him.

"Argus Underhill." He stated.

The council murmured amongst themselves.

"He is of a very old and ancient Elf Family." One of them finally said.

"And very wealthy." Another added.

"We need to find Underhill, and stop him." A third said, "Should he succeed…….."

"He will reveal the existence of the People to the Mud Men. As well as make the surface uninhabitable by flooding it with radiation."

"And if we can't get to the surface, no ritual." Another Council member said, "And no magic."

"We are already working to trace the signal." Trouble said.

"Use everything available to help you in your search." The councilmen said, "Underhill must be stopped."

"Yes sirs." Trouble turned and headed out of the council chamber to where Vinyaya was waiting.

"How'd I do?" he asked.

Vinyaya smiled. "Well concidering the circumstances."

"Can Foaly pull this off?"

"He is a genius."

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"Well?"

Sparks spat out across the room from various computer components and displays. Foaly dove under his desk.

Vinyaya and Trouble stood in the doorway, their eyes wide.

"What was that?" Vinyaya asked.

"A problem." Foaly replied, "I've been trying to back track Underhill's signal. But I keep hitting snags."

"What kind of snags?" Trouble asked.

Foaly indicated the sparks.

"He's blocking his trail with encoded blocks." The centaur replied, "In order to get through, you have to figure out the code."

Vinyaya nodded. "So break the code. You've done it before."

"It isn't that simple." Foaly grumbled, "The encoding is so heavily done, it's crashing the computers."

Vinyaya blinked.

"You're kidding." she said, "Please for the love of Frond tell me your kidding."

"I wish." Foaly replied, "I'm sorry Commander. Without the computer, it will take me days to figure out one code. And we don't even know how many he's thrown up."

Vinyaya paced the room for a moment.

"Suppose you had help?" she asked slowly.

"Help?" Foaly repeated, "We only have a week! There's no way any one around here can help! These are very complicated calculations."

"Suppose we get some genius to help you?"

"Where are you going to……" Foaly's voice trailed off. "No…."

"Yes."

"No….anyone but her."

Vinyaya puased a moment frowning. Then her eyes lit up as it clicked.

"I forgot about Opal. I suppose she'd be able to help too."

"Wait….you forgot about Koboi?!" Foaly shouted, "Who were you thinking of?!"

"Well……."

Foaly practically fell out of his chair.

"FOWL!?!?!" he shouted, "You of all people were thinking of FOWL!?!?!"

"He is a genius!" VInyaya shouted back, "And you said we need all the help we can get."

"But FOWL!?!?"

"You have to admit he was very helpful regarding Hybras."

"I know, I know." Foaly replied, "Well if we are going to bring him here," Foaly began to smile. "May I suggest sending someone in person to ask for his help? Someone he likes?"

Vinyaya looked at Foaly curiously.

"Who?"

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"Captain Holly Short reporting as ordered Ma'am!" Holly stood at attention before Commander Vinyaya's desk, her blue and hazel eyes showing her curiousity.

"Have a seat Captain." Vinyaya said. She waited while Holly sat down before continuing. "I have a rather unusual task for you. I'm sure you saw the broadcast earlier."

Holly nodded her head. She'd been in her apartment when Underhill's broadcast inturrupted the show she'd been watching on the telly. Even before it had ended, Holly had raced to her bedroom to throw on her uniform.

"Our efforts to trace Underhill's transmissions have hit a snag." Vinyaya said, "Foaly needs assistance."

Holly smirked. "How long did it take him to admit he needed help?"

"Not long." Vinyaya replied back, smiling as well.

"So what is the unusual task?"

"You will be escorting Foaly's help here." Vinyaya replied.

Holly looked at Vinyaya curiously.

"And that is?"

"Artemis Fowl."

It could have been the light, but for a breif second, Captain Short's eyes seemed to glaze slightly as a smile graced her lips, before returning to normal.

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"It's a mortal matter and doesn't concern us."

Saturn looked around from his seat in the council room at the other councilors, two each from the many religions of the world. He could see that Athena, Anubis, and even Apollo agreed with him.

His problem though was that the two Norse deities didn't and refused to concede.

"Listen here you little…." Thor growled, starting to rise to his feet. He only stopped when Belldandy placed a hand on his arm. Thor sat back down, but continued to glare at Saturn.

"Perhaps it was overlooked," Belldandy said, "But the person in question did speak Gnomish. I believe that….."

"…makes it all the more irrelevant." Saturn stated, "The Fairies made their bed, let them sleep in it."

"And what of the mortals?" Belldandy asked.

"Fairies are mortals as well." Apollo replied, "Albeit with longer lives, but still mortal."

"And do they not require our protection as well?"

Saturn's eyes narrowed.

"We all know why you won't let this go." He growled, "It's because of the mortal that is your husband. You are putting your own selfish desires above all else."

Belldandy's eyes widened, before narrowing to slits as she gave a glare that caused many to shiver.

"Enough."

The entire Council turned towards the person sitting at the highest point in the room.

Kami-sama, Lord and Creator of the entire Universe.

He turned and slowly looked over the council.

"Keiichi Morisato is a member of my family." Kami-sama stated, "He has proven himself over the years in various trials, including being attacked by a Demon. He has paid a great price and I will not hear of anything against him."

Saturn bowed his head slightly.

"Forgive me my Lord."

Kami-sama looked around the room again.

"As much as it pains me," he said, "It seems that the majority of you believe in what Saturn says. Thus, we shall do nothing."

"But Father!" Belldandy exclaimed.

Kami-sama raised his hand, silencing her.

"The world was created in six days." he stated, "It can be made again. That is all."

The entire council rose and bowed to Kami-sama. They then left the room. Only Belldandy remained where she was. Saturn sneered at her as he left.

"Don't worry." Thor muttered from beside her, "I'll go wipe that smirk off his face." He hefted his hammer and started after the Roman God.

Soon, only Kami-sama and Belldandy remained.

"I know it troubles you daughter." Kami-sama said softly, "But it is the way things are done now."

"Even if it isn't right?" Belldandy asked.

Kami-sama remained silent.

"Father," Belldandy walked up to him and fell to her knees, "We can't allow this to happen."

"The Council disagrees." Kami-sama replied.

"The Council is wrong." Belldandy stated firmly.

"What do you propose be done?" Kami-sama asked.

"Go around the Council." Belldandy replied.

"Around the Council?"

"Yes." Belldandy stated, "This can remain a Norse matter. The Council need not be informed."

"Very well." Kami-sama said slowly, "And how do you propose to go about this?"

"A fairy is involved." Belldandy stated, "so a dialogue must be opened with them."

Kami-sama rubbed his chin and paced slightly. He then looked up towards the ceiling.

Skuld! Mist! He called out telepathically.

Father?/Milord? Came the replies.

In my office, now.

He then turned to Belldandy.

"To my office." He said, "Less ears there."

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Holly stood just off the Fowl property. It had been years since she'd been here last. Sure she'd talk to him off and on with the fairy communicator, but it wasn't the same. Artemis had to be at least thirty, Juliet nearly forty, Butler…….well……who really knew how old Butler was. Holly herself was nearing one hundred, but then to her people, she didn't look a day over forty.

Activating her wings, she fluttered up the drive to the main door. There she landed, then knocked. The door opened to reveal Juliet Butler. As Holly suspected, the youngest Butler was probably in her upper thirties, yet she still had the jade ring attached to her ponytail.

"Hello Holly." Juliet said with a smile, "Please come in."

"Sorry I didn't call." Holly said as she entered.

"It's no problem. Artemis has been expecting you."

"He has?" Holly looked startled for a moment, then she remembered. "Oh, the broadcast. He understood that last bit."

"Indeed I did."

Holly turned to see a pair of legs in gray suit pants. She looked up to see that it was Artemis standing before her in a gray business suit. He had definitly become a man, looking much like a younger version of his father. Only with two diferent colored eyes, one blue, the other hazel.

"Hey Mudboy." Holly said with a smile, "You grew."

"And you Miss Short, are still short." Artemis smiled as Holly gave him a frown. "You started it."

"Did not."

"Did too. You called me Mudboy."

"Fine, You're a Mudman. Happy?"

"Somewhat." Artemis replied with a sigh. "I know this isn't a social visit."

"I wish it was." Holly replied, "Commander Vinyaya would like you to come down and help Foaly track the message."

Artemis nodded.

"If anyone had the equipment to track it, I knew Foaly would. But he needs my help?"

"We have a deadline." Holly replied, "And we want to make sure we can beat it. No last minute saves. Besides," Holly smirked, "the other option was Opal."

Artemis groaned.

"Let me change into something more suited for underground." He said, moving upstairs towards his room.

"What's wrong with what you're wearing?" Holly asked.

Artemis looked back at the Elf.

"Past experience Miss Short." He replied, "Our little adventures are hell on Armani." He then turned to Juliet. "Gather whatever items you think are necessary."

Juliet nodded and started towards her bedroom. Holly followed.

"Where's Butler?" she asked.

"With Artemis' parents." She replied, "They're taking a cruise in the Caribbean with the twins."

"Oh." Holly fidgeted as she watched Juliet tossing various items into a bag. "How is he?"

"Butler?"

"No, Artemis."

"Not bad." Juliet replied, "He's been busy, running the family businesses." She turned and smiled at Holly. "I think he misses the old days sometimes."

"Yeah." Holly murmured, "Is he…..does he……."

"He's single." Juliet stated, "He goes out of his way to avoid Minerva. Still hope for you."

"ME?!?! I… Wha?!?!?!" Holly stuttered. "You're crazy Mudwoman!"

"Sure Holly." Juliet said, snickering.

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Kami-sama and Belldandy entered the office to find Skuld and Mist, the Commander of the Valkyries, already on one knee, bowing towards the desk..

"You called Father?" Skuld asked.

"Milord." Mist replied, her head bowed.

Kami-sama sat down behind his desk and turned his chair to face the two goddesses bowing before him, and the one that now stood next to them. They had to squint slightly as sunlight shined through the massive windows that were the entire wall behind his desk. From there, he could see all of Heaven.

He waved his hand.

"Rise."

Mist and Skuld immediately stood up and looked expectantly at Kami-sama.

"The Council has determined nothing is to be done with the situation on Earth." He began. "It is, a mortal matter."

Skuld visibly frowned. Mist's face remained neutral.

"Belldandy," Kami-sama indicated his daughter, "Has decided the matter will be handled as a Norse matter."

Skuld smiled. Just the barest of one appeared on Mist's face.

"As such she wishes to contact the Fairies." Kami-sama turned and looked at Skuld. "You have had the most recent contact with them, how will they react?"

Skuld blinked. Belldandy and Mist stared at her in shock.

"From my talks with the two," Skuld said slowly, feeling Belldandy's eyes on her. "We are but stories to the general population. Only their council knows of us."

Kami-sama nodded.

"Then it should remain as such. Can we contact them?"

"No." Skuld replied, "There is no way we can contact them as we do with the mortals. We don't even know their technological status. Officially."

"I see." Kami-sama frowned. He was angry that the grudge between Heaven and the Fairies had lasted as long as it had. "Then we shall have to go in person. Who was the last one to visit the Fairies?"

Mist shifted slightly.

"The one who went is no longer with us." She said slowly, "But the one who protected her is."

"Summon her."

Blitz! Mist sent.

There was a flash of light and a blond haired Valkyrie appeared bowed before Kami-sama.

"Milord." Blitz said.

"Rise." Kami-sama said, "Tell me of your visit to the Fairies."

Blitz's eyes widened slightly.

"I was assigned to protect the Lady Verdandi on her trip to Haven, the main Fairy underground city." Blitz stated, "This was…. 1535 or so."

Skuld let out a low whistle.

"Lady Verdandi was trying to….heal the rift between Heaven and Fairies." Blitz continued, "She believed that the mortals could benefit from the Fairies help, even if they didn't know of their existence. The Fairy Council though…" The Valkyries practically spat. "…They rejected Lady Verdandi's offer and…….insulted her."

"How?" Kami-sama asked.

"They…." Blitz struggled to find the right words, but her face only got redder and redder.

"Never mind." Kami-sama waved his hand in dismissal. "Continue."

"I forced the Council member to apologize." Blitz stated, "At the point of my sword." She shrugged. "I may have knocked a few of their security officers around to get at the Council member."

"I see." Kami-sama turned and looked at Belldandy. She was still looking at Skuld in shock.

"Bell." Kami-sama said.

Belldandy blinked and looked at her father. Then turned to Blitz.

"Do you still remember how to get to Haven?" Belldandy asked.

Blitz nodded.

"Yes Lady Belldandy."

"Can you show us?"

"It's difficult to explain." Blitz replied, "They've hidden the entrances to the underground tunnels well. The Commander once stood right on top of one and never knew it."

Mist grumbled something under her breath. Blitz paled slightly and shrank as the Commander's gaze fell on her.

"We'd have to go down by tunnel."

"Can't we just teleport there?" Skuld asked.

Blitz shook her head.

"Unless you knew exactly what to look for, you'd miss your 'exit' completely. It has to be by tunnel."

Belldandy looked to Kami-sama. He saw her look, and nodded.

"Blitz," Belldandy said, turning to face the Valkyrie, "I have a mission for you."

"Milady." Blitz replied.

"This mission is not sanctioned by the full Council. It is a Norse matter."

"I understand."

"Go to Haven." Belldandy stated, "You must make contact with the Fairies. Find out what they know, and if they can help us. Report back to me as soon as you can."

"Yes Milady." Blitz replied with a nod. She then bowed to Kami-sama, turned and left the room.

"Does it really have to be Blitz?" Skuld asked, "I mean, if she scared them before…..?"

"She's my second in command." Mist replied, "There is no one better suited, nor deadlier, other than myself."

"That's exactly what I mean." Skuld stated.

"No one else knows what they may face down there." Kami-sama replied. "We have already lost so many, Blitz understands the dangers present in the Earth." He turned his chair to face the windows behind him.

Belldandy, Skuld, and Mist looked at each other, then bowed to the back of the chair, before turning and quietly leaving the office.

"What now?" Skuld asked.

Belldandy turned to the Valkyrie Commander.

"Give Blitz any assistance she requires. This must succeed." She said, "Skuld and I will be in my office."

Mist nodded then hurried off, leaving the two sisters alone.

"Fairies Skuld?" Belldandy asked softly.

"Something happened years ago." Skuld replied, "A few years after you and Keiichi……. You know."

"Got trapped in an Eva?" Belldandy replied, raising an eyebrow. "Exactly what occurred that involved Fairies?"

Skuld mouth moved, but no words were forthcoming. Finally she turned and looked down the hall.

"Shouldn't one of us go with Blitz though?" she asked, changing the subject.

Belldandy sighed. Skuld wouldn't be sharing anything at this time.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because," Belldandy replied, "It may not be safe for anyone down there."

She then turned and walked towards her office. Skuld stared at her sister's back a moment before turning and running after Blitz.

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"Blitz."

Blitz stopped walking and looked behind her. Skuld was standing there looking very concerned.

"Lady Skuld." Blitz said with a nod, "What can I do for you?"

"The Fairies." Skuld replied, "Their council may not listen to you."

Blitz nodded. "Fairies have long lives. It is possible that some would remember the events of then. But I know this."

"What you don't know is I met two fairies seventeen years ago." Skuld replied, "They helped to return Sayoko to me when she was kidnapped."

Blitz was startled.

"Kidnapped?" she repeated in shock, "But……but there was no record of this!"

"It was kept quiet." Skuld replied. "Only Peorth, Father, and I knew about it."

"You mean Lady Belldandy doesn't know?!?!?"

"No." Skuld whispered. "It's a failure on my part. For letting the kidnapping happen, and for not telling Belldandy sooner."

Blitz was silent. It wasn't her place to judge Skuld. That was what Kami-sama was for. Of course, Lady Belldandy would definitely have some say in it.

"What of the Fairies?" Blitz asked softly.

Skuld told her exactly who she should seek.

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Artemis watched as the walls of the shaft rose past the windows as their shuttle descended.

"How you doing?" Holly asked from the pilot's seat.

"These shuttles are smaller then I remember." Artemis muttered.

"That's because you got bigger Mudboy." Holly replied with a smirk.

Artemis sighed. "You going to keep at the Mudboy comments?"

"I get to, I'm older then you."

"Well I'm not going to be able to catch up anytime soon." Artemis noted.

"Guess you're stuck with Mudboy then."

Artemis shook his head. "Where is Mulch?"

"Who knows." Holly replied, "Last I saw of him was about two weeks ago. He was tracking down a missing pixie and an item. He said it might take him at least two months or so before he could contact me again."

"What was the item?"

"Koboi Laboratories Mark Thirty Super Computer." Holly replied, "To you, it'd look like a laptop. But it has the computing power equal to one of your MAGI systems."

"I didn't think Koboi was still around." Artemis mused.

"She isn't. Her company is." Holly then looked at a screen. "Coming up on the landing platform. Better sit down just in case."

Artemis moved back into the cabin. Holly glanced slightly over her shoulder, slightly wishing he'd sat in the co-pilot's chair instead.

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Munich, Germany

Thunder rumbled across the sky, causing many of the people to look up in wonder. There were no thunderstorms expected today. Many shrugged, just another day when the weatherman was wrong.

Lightning ripped across the sky a second later, slamming into the earth inside of a city park, raising a small cloud of dust. As the dust settled, Blitz was revealed. She was dressed like a typical mortal, jeans and a light jacket over a t-shirt. Gave the park a quick look around before heading out into the city.

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Commander Vinyaya stared at the Mudman standing before her in the operations room.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice." She said.

"My pleasure." Artemis replied. He then nodded to Foaly. "I understand you're having difficulties."

Foaly snorted. "Believe me Mudman, these are hardly difficulties.

"Well then." Artemis said, "Should we begin?"

Foaly nodded. He clicked a display on that revealed a map of the world.

"I've been tracing the message back, but it's been rather difficult."

"You handled my Father's ransom message easily enough." Artemis replied as he moved to stand next to Foaly.

"The world has changed a lot since then." The Centaur replied. He brought up another screen, showing the messages wavelength. "You see here, the spike?"

"Yes." Artemis replied, "Radiation?"

"No. Radiation looks a bit sharper."

"Earthquake then?"

"That's what I thought, but then….."

The two geniuses soon moved into highly technical terms. Vinyaya, Juliet and Holly stared at the two as they talked.

"Holly?"

"Yes Juliet?"

"Do you have any idea what they're saying?"

"No." Holly replied, "In fact, I'm getting a headache just listening to them."

"Oh good. I thought it was just me……"

Vinyaya shook her head, muttering the word 'geniuses' as she left.

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Blitz now stood outside of the Munich Library. She closed her eyes for a moment, and reached out with her mind.

It was here. She was sure of it.

She reopened her eyes and entered the library. She went quickly to the stairs and went down to the lowest level she could find. She walked along the darkened hallways until she reached the spot she was looking for.

To a normal person, and even to a Fairy, it was just a slab of concrete. Impenetrable, and quite solid.

It was entirely something else to the Valkyrie.

With a quick glance around, Blitz hazed slightly, and seemed to vanish into the floor. In actuality, she had phased herself to pass through the floor. She reappeared in a small hallway. She became fully solid again after she had past entirely through the blockage.

She glanced around. The hallway was tiled, but it had also been made for people shorter then four feet. Blitz suddenly vanished in a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, the Valkyrie was now only a foot tall. She waved her hand across her clothing and it changed. Gone was the mortal clothing, in it's place was her Valkyrie outfit, complete with armor. She pulled on her helmet. It was a new thing, not as old as her armor. A few of the mortals in Heaven (who were dead of course) had said it looked a lot like a Police SWAT helmet. The big difference was that it looked like her old helmet from the twelfth century, complete in gold with runes and markings that had adorned the old one. Where it was like the SWAT helmet was the face shield. It easily covered the upper part of the Valkyries' face, leaving the lower half open. The best part was the tint Skuld had made. She could clearly see out, but no one could see her eyes.

Blitz moved quickly through the hallway, her feet kicking up several decades worth of dust in her wake. She past the customs booth and ticket counters. She then jumped a turnstile and entered the shuttle terminal.

She walked to the edge of the landing area and looked down the chute. Somewhere down there, far far below, was molten lava. Not quite as deep was the opposite shuttle terminal, where Fairies would exit and proceed into the city of Haven. Given the condition of this terminal, the other one was probably similar in condition.

Blitz gave the shaft one more look, before stepping off into the abyss.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A loud ping caused everyone in the room to look up.

"What was that?" Juliet asked.

"Movement in a chute." Foaly replied as he moved in front of his terminal.

"But there's always something moving in a chute." Holly pointed out.

"Not in one of the disused ones." Foaly typed away at his terminal. "Chute E23."

Holly frowned. "Isn't that the old Munich chute?"

"Yeah. Closed in the 1700s." Foaly typed more commands into the terminal. The main screen in the room blinked and showed a diagram of the chute in question. A small blinking dot showed where the movement was.

It was heading down.

Fast.

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Blitz watched as the chute walls blurred past her. She knew it wouldn't be long before she reached her destination. A cloud of smoke erupted around her. When the smoke had vanished, the Valkyrie had returned to her full size.

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Foaly blinked.

"Whatever it is, it got bigger."

"Bigger?" Holly asked, "How does a falling rock become bigger?"

"Because it isn't a rock." Artemis replied. He looked at Foaly. "Is it?"

Foaly shrugged. "At this point your guess is as good as mine."

"Could it be a human?" Juliet asked.

"Falling down a chute?" Foaly asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well you said it got bigger." Juliet pointed out, "Maybe they have a parachute and opened it."

"No." Foaly replied as her typed away. "It's Mudman sized, but it isn't slow……." A frown appeared on the Centaur's face. "It is slowing down."

Commander Vinyaya choose that moment to enter.

"Whats going on?" she asked, "You didn't set off the NORNs again did you?"

"Something's coming down Chute E23." Foaly stated. "It looks like a Mudman."

"What!?!?" Vinyaya turned and looked at the display. She stared at the blip that represented the falling object.

"Contact Commander Kelp. Have him initiate Lockdown procedures!" Vinyaya ordered.

"Why?" Holly asked, "If it is a Mudman, they'll either hit the landing platform and die, or continue past into the magma."

Vinyaya looked at Foaly.

"I have no idea what's going on." Foaly replied, " But it seems to be slowing down."

"Slowing down how?" Vinyaya asked.

"I DON'T KNOW!!" Foaly shouted, "It's impossible!"

"Foaly." Everyone turned to look at Artemis. He was staring at the display.

"Listen to the Commander and activate the Lockdown."

Everyone stared at Fowl, slightly stunned by his tone.

"Do it." Artemis repeated.

Foaly frowned and entered the command.

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All over Haven, the lights went out. Magnastrips that supplied power to vehicles went dead shortly thereafter. Overhead, the sunstrips slowly went dark. As they did so, massive steel doors began to lower themselves into position, blocking off tunnels and other strategic locations, separating Haven from the rest of the world by two hundred feet of solid steel.

The citizens of Haven all looked at each other in shock, then turned and ran for their homes in fear.

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"Whatever it is," Foaly replied, "It's landed. I'm bringing up the security cameras now."

Everyone looked over to the main screen. Several views flashed by of an abandoned shuttle terminal, complete with trolls. Holly and Artemis both shivered at the sight of them.

Finally the camera paused on a view of the landing platform. The door was still closed, preventing any magma flares from the chute entering the terminal.

"Whatever it is," Vinyaya said with a smile, "It's not going to get through that……."

Suddenly a person appeared just inside the door.

"….Holy centaurs…." Holly murmured, her eyes wide in shock.

"How did…..?" Juliet began, but was unable to finish.

"Foaly……" Vinyaya started.

"I don't know……." Foaly stuttered. He began bringing up sensor information on another screen.

"Foaly." Artemis said, his voice betraying no emotion. "Can you zoom in on the face?"

"Yeah….."

The image hazed slightly as the camera zoomed in. In a second the image came into focus, showing what appeared to be a woman. Blond hair flowed out from under a helmet. A face shield covered the upper part of her face.

"Looks like she's wearing a LEP helmet." Holly pointed out.

"Impossible!" Foaly shouted, "We haven't lost any!"

Artemis walked up and stared at the screen.

"Can you zoom any closer?"

Foaly rolled his eyes. A second later the screen had moved even closer to the woman's face. At least what wasn't covered by the helmet.

"I can't make out the rest of the face." Foaly said, "The computer can't penetrate that visor."

Holly blinked and looked at the Centaur.

"I thought the computers could do that."

"They can normally." Foaly replied, "But there's something about that visor of hers."

Artemis pointed at the helmet. "Can you bring the helmet markings into view?"

"Yeah."

The screen flicked, showing a close up of the helmet.

Holly frowned.

"What are those?" she asked, "I've never seen anything like that."

"Neither have I." Artemis said, his forehead furrowing in concentration.

"I have." Foaly said. He turned and looked at Vinyaya. "And you have too."

"That computer network you found." Vinyaya murmured. "You said they couldn't track you."

"I guess I was wrong."

"YOU WERE WRONG!?!?!?!?!"

"Umm…." Everyone turned and looked at Juliet. She pointed at the screen. "That woman seems to be headed towards the trolls."

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If possible, this terminal was in worse shape then the one near the surface.

Blitz wrinkled her nose in disgust as a very unpleasant odor drifted into it from outside the helmet.

'Next time," she thought, 'Lady Skuld needs to make them full face and airtight.'

Motion attracted her attention from the corner of her eye. She turned her head slightly, but saw nothing. She waited a moment, listening intently, but heard nothing. She resumed walking in the direction of the city when something caught her eye again.

A skull.

She looked at it curiously. It didn't look human, more animal if anything. Great glistening teeth lined it's mouth.

That was when she felt it.

Something was coming up behind her.

Something very bad.

In one fluid motion, she leaped to her feet, whipping out her sword as she did so, and swung with a violent upward cut. She felt her sword drag slightly as it sliced through the body of one of the largest trolls she had ever seen. It was a perfect cut, right up the middle. The two halves of troll flopped down on either side, still twitching.

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Silence dominated the room.

"Holy centaurs….." Vinyaya murmured.

"Holy shit!" Juliet swore.

Holly was pointing at the screen and looking at Artemis.

"Did she just…..?"

"Yes." Artemis replied, "She sliced it in two. Could have used her back when Opal had us."

Foaly remained quiet, watching as the other trolls approached.

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Blitz was about to resume walking when she noticed three more trolls in front of her. A quick glance showed that more had come up behind her. It seemed she now had the entire packs attention.

She raised her sword in her right hand and smiled at the nearest troll. She then gave a come here gesture to the troll with her left.

From there it got quite messy.

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"How many was it?"

"I don't know. I got distracted when I threw up after the first two."

Everyone in the room felt very queasy. Holly, Vinyaya, and Foaly looked absolutely green. Juliet seemed to be fighting a losing battle with her stomach, while Artemis looked much paler then usual.

"Where is she now?" Vinyaya asked, her voice sounding very strained.

"She's approaching the north tunnel." Foaly replied.

Vinyaya nodded.

"Send word to Commander Kelp to get over there with a squad. Now!"

"But it's two hundred feet of solid steel."

"And she just shredded a pack of trolls! Do it!"

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Blitz looked at the piles of dead trolls laying around her, a slight look of remorse on her face. Taking life never was easy, but the Valkyries were trained and taught that it was sometimes necessary for the security of Heaven, and the mortal world. And the mortal world was most definitely at risk this day.

Blitz turned and continued towards the entrance to the city. The few trolls that still remained now kept a respectful distance from her.

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Commander Trouble Kelp stood silently by a LEP vehicle, parked just a short distance from the north tunnel.

"I don't understand why we're here."

Trouble closed his eyes in pain. He then turned and looked to his side. Standing there was his younger brother, Captain Grub Kelp,

"We're here to protect Haven Captain." Trouble replied.

"From what?" Grub asked.

"From what SIR!"

"But you're my brother."

"Out here I'm your superior officer Captain!"

"But Mommy said……"

"Keep it up and you'll be on waste tunnel inspection duty."

Grub's eyes went wide.

Trouble looked back to the door.

"Whoever is on the other side of that just obliterated an entire pack of trolls," He looked at his brother, "in hand to hand combat."

Grub's eyes went even wider.

"But if they could do all that…….."

"Exactly." Trouble looked over to where over a dozen LEP officers were readying their neutrinos. "That's why we are here."

"But it's dangerous!!!"

"If whoever it is gets through that door," Trouble pointed out, "Then there will be no safe place in Haven to hide."

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"Where is she?" Vinyaya asked.

"Somewhere near the door." Foaly replied. He entered a command on his terminal. The main screen flickered to show a camera view just outside the north tunnel door. They all watched as the woman approached the door.

"Let's see you get through that." Foaly said with a smirk.

"She will."

Everyone turned and looked at Artemis. He was watching the screen intently, his chin resting upon his hand.

"That's two hundred feet of solid steel, Mudman." Foaly pointed out, "There's nothing that can penetrate it."

"Oh but there is." Artemis replied. He finally turned his eyes to the others. "And she is about to show us."

Holly looked at Artemis and then to Foaly. Both were geniuses, and both were almost always right. On the one hand, she hoped with all her being that Foaly was the one that was right this time. But one glance at Artemis showed a person who knew something and wasn't about to share it.

"What the……" Came Vinyaya's voice.

Everyone looked back to the screen.

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Blitz walked up to the door and gently ran her hand along it. She then raised her sword and taped the door with the hand grip. A metallic thunk sounded with each hit.

Solid steel, very thick.

Her sword was much stronger then any steel that mortals, human or fairy, could ever hope to produce. But even it had limits. There was no way she was going to be able to hack through this door.

Nor could she simply pass through it like she had the other door. This one was vastly thicker then the other.

But then there was a reason her name was Blitz.

The Valkyrie sheathed her sword then turned and faced the door. She clasped her hands together and bowed her head.

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"I'm bored." Grub whined, "Why didn't you let me bring my movies?"

"Because then you'd complain that they would get dusty out here." Trouble replied, "Besides, you're on duty."

"But….." Grub began. But he never finished that thought.

Every fairy present suddenly looked up and at the door. As magical beings, fairies could sense magic around them and in others.

Something on the other side of the door was putting off enough power equal to an atomic bomb, if not more.

"What is that?" Grub asked, "What's going on?"

Trouble knew what it was. So did several other LEP officers who had been there that one night at Fowl manor.

The Commander quickly raised the microphone to his mouth.

"Foaly!" he said, "We've got a problem!!"

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Blitz snapped her head up. Even with her tinted visor, her eyes were able to be seen as they glowed a brilliant white. She raised her hands above her head. Lightning crackled between them. She then brought her hands down in front of her. Lightning roared from her hands, slamming into the steel door with a loud crackle that could be heard on the other side.

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The camera had gone out as the woman had raised her hands.

"FOALY!" came Trouble's radio call, "We've got a problem!!"

"It's a Goddess." Artemis stated, causing everyone in the room to stare at him.

"You can't be….." Vinyaya started to say.

"I think it's a God or Goddess." Trouble added through the radio.

"Told you." Artemis whispered.

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Trouble and the LEP officers watched in awe as the door spat off bolts of energy. The center of the door began to glow, red at first, but slowly becoming brighter as the minutes ticked away.

"What's going on Trub?" Grub whined.

"Trouble." The Commander replied, "Big, powerful, dangerous trouble."

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"I need to help them."

"Juliet you can't go out there." Artemis stated, "This is a Goddess. You wouldn't last long against her."

"Butler took on a troll and won." Juliet pointed out.

"One troll." Artemis replied, "She just wiped out an entire pack."

"Listen to Artemis. These are the same people that attacked Earth with the Angels." Holly said, "Stay here."

"She's coming through." Foaly said, his voice filled with awe.

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White hot metal dripped from the door, pooling on the ground before it. A lot of molten metal was there, with more being added every second. Suddenly a bolt of lightning shot out of the door with a loud bang, before it slammed into and destroyed one of the LEP wagons. The wagon exploded in a fireball, sending LEP officers scattering.

Trouble looked at the burning wagon, then turned back to the door. There was now a large hole melted through the door. The hole still glowed, but the roar was now gone. All that could be heard now were footsteps, slow and steady coming from the hole.

Finally the woman stepped out and looked around.

Trouble immediately drew his neutrino, as did the other LEP Officers.

"Freeze!" Trouble shouted, "We have you surrounded!"

The woman stared at Trouble a moment. Then shook her head.

"I have no time to play with you." She said in perfect Gnommish, "Stand aside."

"Listen lady." Trouble said, "You're going to come with us and……"

The woman held up her hand, halting Trouble in mid speech.

"I won't come with you." She said, "But I also have no desire to harm you……Trouble Kelp." She started to walk……

Trouble blinked, shocked that she knew his name. Then his training reasserted itself.

"Ready!" He shouted, "Aim……."

….and promptly vanished.

The LEP Officers stared stunned at the spot where the woman vanished. Trouble quickly reached up and tried various settings on his helmet.

Nothing.

"Foaly……"

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"She's gone." Foaly muttered, typing rapidly on his terminal. "She can't be gone. No one can just be gone!"

"What are you trying?" Vinyaya asked.

"Inferred, ultraviolet, radar, sonar, you name it I'm trying it."

Artemis shook his head.

"You won't find her Foaly unless she wants to be found, or we are extremely lucky."

Vinyaya glared at Artemis. "So what would you have us do?"

"What is the one thing you can find in Haven that you can't find anywhere else?" Artemis asked.

"Really nice dolphin flambé?" Foaly replied.

"Ew." Juliet muttered.

"Ahh no." Artemis said, "Something important, more…… governmental."

Vinyaya's eyes went wide.

"The Council!"

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Blitz smirked as she watched the LEP Officers looking around trying to find her. The only way they could find her was if they were a deity, which they weren't, or if she had a sudden mental lapse and became partially visible, which also wasn't very likely.

She leaped into the air and floated up to the top of a nearby building. There, she looked out over the darkened city. Despite the time that had past since she had last been here, much was still recognizable.

She quickly flew off towards the direction of the building the Council met in.

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"So you have been unable to stop the Goddess?" one of the Council members stated.

Trouble paled, "Umm that is essentially correct sir."

"And what is her current location?"

"Well she….."

"..is here." Came a female voice.

The Council and Trouble looked off to the side as Blitz moved out of the shadows.

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"Now that's an entrance." Foaly whispered. He then reached under his desk and pulled out a roll of foil. The others stared as he began to wrap the foil around his head.

"Dare I ask?" Juliet whispered.

"This way she can't read my mind." Foaly explained.

"But….." Juliet began before Artemis placed his hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

"It's best to just let it go." He said.

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Chairman Cahartez rose to his feet as he stared at Blitz.

"Who are you Goddess?"

"I am the Valkyrie Blitz," she stated, "Second in Command of the Valkyries in Heaven."

"Why are you here Valkyrie Blitz?" Cahartez asked.

"I am here because of the current crisis." Blitz stated, "I wish to know of your efforts to stop the destruction of the surface world."

"What do you care of the surface world?" Trouble asked, "You sent the Angels to attack it!"

Blitz frowned.

"We did no such…."

"Did you finally decide to finish what you started with the Mudmen?" Cahartez, "They've done an excellent job of destroying the environment! Was Second Impact enough? Were things moving to slowly for you?"

"We did NOT send the Angels." Blitz growled, "And you were given a choice on where to…."

"Do you deny the Heavens created the Angels?"

Blitz's face showed no emotion.

"The Angels were created by us several eons ago." She stated.

"Then you did send them to attack the surface."

"No."

Cahartez glared at Blitz.

"You lie." He stated.

Blitz's eyes widened in fury.

"I do not lie." She stated firmly. "If you would just…."

"Save your breath." Cahartez interrupted, waving his hand. "We have no desire to hear your words anymore."

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Artemis watched the screen as the Valkyrie's jaw worked slightly before she turned and stormed out of the Council chamber.

"That went well." He murmured.

"Cahartez didn't even hear what she had to say." Vinyaya said.

"He only heard what he wanted to." Artemis said, "It looks as though the Council still has a grudge against the Gods."

"Don't you?" Holly asked, "After Second Impact and the Angels………"

"Second Impact was apparently a meteor." Foaly pointed out, "And there are always limits to what a more advanced group will do for another, even if they are the Gods."

Artemis looked at the Centaur curiously.

"Where did you get that idea?"

"Star Trek."

Juliet and Holly rolled their eyes. Artemis just smirked.

"Interesting." He then turned and looked at the screen. "Despite the Council's distrust, we do need the Gods in this."

"Why?" Foaly asked.

"We've been looking over the data for over three hours." Artemis replied, "And between us, we haven't figured out anything. Time is running short."

"So what do we do?" Vinyaya asked.

Artemis grabbed a communicator off of Foaly's desk.

"Hey!" the Centaur shouted.

Artemis ignored the Centaur and turned to Holly.

"You need to get to that Valkyrie before she leaves."

Holly blinked.

"Why me?"

"Because Foaly would raise to many eyebrows." Artemis replied, "As would the Commander, Juliet, or myself. It has to be you."

Holly took the communicator. "So what do I say?"

"Listen carefully…." Artemis replied.

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After several wrong turns and many glares from fairies, Blitz finally reached the street in front of Police Plaza. With one finally look around, she started to teleport out when a shout stopped her.

"Wait!"

Blitz turned to see a female Elf running towards her. The Elf stopped before the Valkyrie, breathing heavily.

"I……have….something….for…..you….." the Elf panted.

"What?" Blitz asked harshly.

The Elf handed the Valkyrie a small device.

"It's a communicator." The Elf said.

"What would I want with this?" Blitz asked, starting to get annoyed.

The Elf took a deep breath before speaking.

"I have a message for Skuld."

Blitz blinked, her annoyance vanishing. Could this be one of the two Elves Lady Skuld had spoken of?"

"What is your message?" The Valkyire's voice was much softer now.

"The Gods still have friends in Haven." The Elf replied, "And they would very much like assistance."

Blitz nodded. "Very well. I shall pass on your message."

The Valkyrie then clapped her arms to her chest and vanished in a flash of lightning.

"Holly?"

Holly turned to see Trouble standing behind her, along with several other LEP officers.

"What did you just do?" Trouble asked.

"I think I just saved us." Holly replied.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Trouble paced the room in Section Eight.

"Lemme get this straight." He said, turning to face Artemis, Holly, Foaly, Commander Vinyaya, and Juliet. "You gave the Valkyrie a communicator, to get the Gods help, AFTER the Council just told them off?"

"Well….yeah." Holly replied.

"It would seem to be the best idea for ending the current crisis." Artemis pointed out.

"And we haven't had much luck on our own." Foaly added.

Trouble raised his hands.

"Hey I'm not mad or anything." He said, "I just wish you guys would let me in on it."

"Huh?" Foaly and the others blinked in confusion.

Trouble smiled, "You may not realize it, but many of the new Majors were on the team that went to Fowl Manor to save that Goddess. They've actually mentioned to me they'd rather be on the side of the Gods then against them." Trouble looked around the room. "So what's next?"

"We wait." Artemis replied, "and continue to try and find Underhill on our own."

Holly frowned, "But what about the Gods? What was the point of me giving that Valkyrie the communicator if we……"

"It's been over fifteen years." Artemis replied, "The times have changed. The Gods are not insulated from those changes."

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Belldandy sat behind her desk, staring at the communicator in her hand as Blitz gave her report. Skuld stood silently off to the side, trying not to make eye contact with her sister.

"Thank you Blitz." Belldandy said. "You may go."

Blitz bowed her head, then with a look at Skuld, left the office, leaving the two sisters alone.

"Your friends in the fairy world are asking for assistance." Belldandy said.

"They are probably going around the Council's back like we are." Skuld replied.

She felt her sister's blue eyes, gazing at her. Skuld found it unnerving to say the least.

"What happened when you met the Fairies?" Belldandy asked, "Why did you encounter them in the first place? They never had a reason to come to Nekomi that I knew of, not even to replenish their magic."

Skuld remained silent.

Belldandy sighed, then looked down at the communicator still resting in her hand. She was hardly a mechanical genius like Skuld, but she had picked up a few things from being around her sister as well as Keiichi and the Motor Club.

The fact that each button on the communicator was clearly labeled in Gnomish helped out quite a bit.

Belldandy opened the communicator and pressed the transmit button.

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A chime caused everyone to look over at Foaly's terminal. The Centaur typed for a moment, then frowned.

"Well," he said, "Someone is contacting us on the communicator……. ….."

"But?" Artemis asked.

Foaly looked up. "I have no idea from where."

"What do you mean you have no idea?" Vinyaya asked, "It has to be transmitting from somewhere!"

"Bring it up on the main screen." Artemis said. Foaly nodded and pressed a button.

The screen flickered a moment, then the image of a Goddess appeared. She seemed to be sitting with her back facing a large window, but no one was looking at that, they were staring at the Goddess herself.

"I am the Goddess Belldandy Morisato," the Goddess said, "Class 0, Type 2, Unlimited, Member of the Council of Heaven."

Juliet moved next to Artemis.

"I thought she was dead?" she asked him.

The Goddess heard the comment.

"I was believed dead for sometime." She replied, "But that story is for another time."

"Indeed." Artemis said.

Belldandy seemed to look at them more closely.

"I did not believe that the Fairies accepted people from the surface in their realm."

Artemis looked over at the Fairies. All five seemed in awe of the Goddess, so he turned back to the screen and answered her.

"I am Artemis Fowl." He stated, "And I'm a rather…..rare exception to the rule."

The Goddess looked off-screen to her left. Faint words could just be heard just barely being picked up by the communicator. When Belldandy looked back, Artemis could tell from her face she knew what he had meant.

"I see." Belldandy said, "I assume that your request for assistance goes against the Council there?"

"Yes."

"Know that it goes against our Council as well."

Artemis frowned slightly. He found it odd that a Council member of Heaven was going against the majority by helping them.

"So you will help us?" he asked slowly.

"I believe I just said that." Belldandy stated.

"Is this because we 'saved' your daughter?" Artemis asked, "Or do you have some 'other' motive."

Belldandy seemed to have had the shock of her life. Her eyes went wide and her chin fell to her chest. Just as quickly, her face became one of anger. She turned back to her left and began to shout in a language that Artemis had only heard once before.

The God's language.

It was during the Goddess' 'conversation' with the person off screen that finally the fairies snapped out of it.

"What's going on?" Holly asked. The speaker was still filled with Belldandy's shouts.

"I think someone neglected to tell her about that incident with O'Connell." Artemis replied.

When Belldandy finally turned back to the screen, she still seemed very agitated.

"I will send what help I can to you." Belldandy said, her voice now weary from shouting. "She should be there shortly."

Artemis nodded to the screen.

"Thank you."

The screen went blank as the connection was terminated. Artemis glanced over at Vinyaya.

"I think we're about to get a guest." He said.

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"How could you keep that from me." Belldandy whispered, "How?!"

Skuld's gaze was directed at the floor.

"It…..I……It was a mistake. I'm sorry."

Belldandy waved her hand. "Don't be, it's not your fault. Neither the kidnapping, nor keeping it from me." The elder sister rose to her feet. "I just wish I hadn't found out like this." She started towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Skuld asked, finally lifting her head to face her sister.

"I am going to Earth and talking to my daughter." Belldandy replied, "You are to go to Haven and give what assistance you can. Once we know the who and what, we'll go from there."

"But you can't!" Skuld shouted.

"Why not? She's my daughter! She….."

"….doesn't remember anything happening!!"

Belldandy stopped short of the door. She slowly turned around, her eyes staring hard at Skuld.

"There is only one way a Goddess could 'forget'." She said slowly. "Are you telling me that…."

Skuld nodded. "Her memories were blocked. Just as yours were."

"You knew my mind about that." Belldandy said, her eyes full of disappointment. "Why did you let Sayoko go through with it?"

"She……wasn't getting over it." Skuld said. "For almost two months, I tried to help her. But she couldn't get past it. She feared being taken in the night. Peorth had suggested the block, but I held out." Skuld sighed. "I know you're upset, but it was the best we could do. I'm sorry."

Belldandy stared at her sister.

"I am upset." She finally said, "But it isn't to me that you should be apologizing to."

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Foaly and Artemis stared at the display of the message. Trouble had left to inform several other LEP officers about the upcoming arrival. Vinyaya was getting Section Eight ready to receive the deity. Holly and Juliet, feeling rather useless at the moment, sat on the floor playing cards.

"I still think that's radiation." Artemis muttered.

"Can't be." Foaly muttered, "It's too heavily spiked. It looks almost like it's been through a fire, but I don't have any reports of fire at the time the message went out."

"Not unless you count St Petersburg."

Foaly shook his head. "No, even if it did go through St. Petersburg, it wouldn't be have this spike."

"Well something powerful caused this…." Artemis' voice trailed off as he noticed a strange look appear on Foaly's face. A quick glance showed that Holly had the same expression. Another glance showed a water bottle, sitting on a shelf was vibrating rather violently. With a bang, the cap shot off the bottle and a burst of light shot out. When the light faded, Skuld was standing before them.

"Hello Goddess Skuld." Artemis said.

"Just 'Skuld' will be alright." The Goddess replied, sounding tired.

"Problems?"

"My sister is not exactly happy with me at the moment." Skuld replied.

"Ah."

Skuld turned and looked at the Centaur, her eyes falling upon his tin foil cap.

"Are you aware there's tin foil on your head?" she asked.

"Yes." Foaly replied.

"Why?"

"To prevent you from reading my mind of course!"

Skuld blinked, then looked at Artemis.

"Is he serious?"

"Sadly yes."

"…..Kami-sama help me…."

"Hey," Holly spoke up, "Just how did you end up here anyway? That Valkyrie came down a chute."

"Once we had contact with you, we have our ways." Skuld replied with a smirk. "Now show me what you have on that Underhill person."

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Keiichi Morisato sat reclined on his chair in the living room of the apartment. It was this apartment in Tokyo-2 that Skuld and his daughter Sayoko had gone to after leaving Nekomi. With he and his wife's return, the Apartment now had four occupants.

Belldandy and Skuld were of course in Heaven at this moment, Keiichi having watched them leave. Music blasting from a stereo let him know that his daughter was in her room. He could only assume her friend Rei Ikari was still there as well.

Sayoko had returned from the Heavens shortly after St Petersburg had been destroyed. The only thing she had said was 'Mom 'ordered' me to take it easy and let her deal with it.' She had promptly called up Rei and the two had been locked away in the bedroom ever since.

He listened for a moment and received confirmation as he could hear Sayoko and Rei singing along with the stereo.

"Stand my ground!" the girls sang very loudly, "I won't give in, I won't give up, no more denying, I've gotta face it. Won't close my eyes and hide the truth inside.  
If I don't make it, someone else will, stand my ground!"

Keiichi could only shake his head. At least a few people were happy, despite the current situation. He started to close his eyes when he noticed the mirror on the wall had begun to glow. A moment later, a rather unhappy Belldandy stepped through.

"Bell?" Keiichi asked, rising to his feet and walking towards his wife. As soon as he was close enough, Belldandy wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder.

Keiichi immediately responded by wrapping his arms around her. His right began to rub her back. Usually she would start to cheer up at this point, but this time was different. He knew few things would make Belldandy this unhappy. Most of them involved family.

"What's happened?" Keiichi asked softly.

"I found out that Sayoko had been kidnapped when she was five."

"KIDNAPPED?!?!?!??!"

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Sayoko stopped singing and glanced towards her bedroom door.

"Uh oh." She muttered.

Rei glanced at her.

"What is it?"

"Mom's unhappy about something." Sayoko replied, "Now Dad is….." The Goddess' face paled. "….oh….."

Rei frowned. "What is it?"

"Something's come up and I think there's going to be a family meeting." Sayoko replied.

This was confirmed a moment later when there was a knock on her door.

"Yoko." Belldandy's voice called from the other side. "We need to talk."

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Skuld stared at the message. The spikes in it were bothering her. Something about them looked familiar, yet she couldn't figure out why.

She glanced at Foaly.

"Play it again." She said.

Foaly nodded. Again the message from Underhill played. Again St Petersburg vanished in a mushroom cloud.

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Underhill stroked his chin.

"Well?" he asked.

Trance looked up.

"The tanks are pressurized." The pixie replied. "We are ready."

"Good." Underhill replied, rubbing his hands together. "Release the gas."

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Sayoko stared at her mother and father.

"I was kidnapped?" she said.

Belldandy nodded.

"Yes."

"When I was five?"

"Yes."

Sayoko frowned. "Why don't I remember?"

"You were given a potion that blocked your memories of it." Belldandy replied sadly.

"Ok. How do I remove it?"

Keiichi scratched his head. "Well, we're not sure."

"You see," Her mother said, "I received the potion to block…..a very unsettling event that left me catatonic. I only remembered after experiencing a vaccination and then Celestine……"

Sayoko nodded, then stared at the floor.

"So how do I remember?" she asked.

"I don't know." Belldandy replied softly, "I don't know how to lift the block."

"Another question to ask is 'do you really want it removed?'" Keiichi added. Belldandy looked at him curiously. "It was obviously something from your childhood that is best forgotten."

"That may be true." Sayoko replied, still looking at the floor. "But it's something that happened to me." She looked up. "Now knowing that it's missing, makes me feel like a part of me is gone as well."

Keiichi smiled, as did Belldandy.

"We'll support you in any decision you make." Belldandy said, "It is your choice after all."

Sayoko nodded, then looked at her mother curiously.

"How did you find out about this anyway?"

"A group of fairies contacted us, looking for Skuld." The Elder Goddess explained, "They needed help regarding this crisis. Skuld's with them right now."

Sayoko perked up.

"Auntie is with them? Can I go too?"

Belldandy shook her head.

"No." she replied, "You're still healing from your fight with Loki."

"But I feel fine!"

Belldandy pointed at her daughter's arm. "Then why is it still bandaged?"

Sayoko quickly put her hand on her arm. "It's just a bit tender."

"Right." Her mother rose to her feet. "You will stay here." She then turned and left the room before her daughter could protest.

Sayoko stared in the direction her mother had gone, then looked to her father.

"Daaaaaad….."

Keiichi held his hands up.

"You know I'm not about to get between you two." He sighed, "You both can be a bit stubborn when you have your minds set on something."

"DAD!"

"Well it's true." Keiichi stared off into the living room. He could just see the glow fading from the mirror, indicating Belldandy had returned to Heaven. He turned back to his daughter to see her head buried in her arms on the table top.

"Although……." He began.

Sayoko's head lifted just enough for an eye to come into view.

"You are twenty-two now." Keiichi continued, "Which means you're a year older then I was when I met your mother." He sighed. "That does make you an adult, and all it entails."

Sayoko was immediately on her feet. She quickly kissed Keiichi on the cheek.

"Thank you Daddy." She said before skipping off to her room.

"Belldandy is going to hurt me." Keiichi muttered.

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"Don't hurt him."

Belldandy looked up from the screen at her older sister. Urd.

"I would never consider it." She replied. She then looked back at the screen that showed the apartment kitchen, her husband still seated at the table. "But we are going to have a nice long talk."

Urd smirked, "Followed by some smooching and other things?"

Belldandy blushed a deep red.

"That's between me and him." She pointed a finger at Urd's face. "And you'd do well to keep your recording devices out of my love life!"

Urd feigned innocence. "Me? Record your love life? What ever would give you that idea?"

"I can think of several things."

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Skuld was now pacing the operations room. Both Foaly and Holly found it very odd that the Goddess was now treading a similar path on the floor that Commander Root would have many years before.

Skuld was very sure now. She had seen the spikes on the message before. She just couldn't remember where.

"I'm a Goddess." she grumbled as she paced, "We remember everything! How the hell could I……." Her eyes went wide as she stopped dead in her tracks.

"What is it?" Artemis asked.

"I'm the biggest baka……." Skuld began to say before she was interrupted by alarms.

Foaly immediately turned to his terminal.

"Oh Frond." He murmured.

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Captain Grub Kelp stared out through his visor in shock as dozens of Fairies slowly marched towards Police Plaza. There were always Fairies coming into and out of the Plaza. There were also a few times in recent memory when there had been protests, mostly Goblins protesting the treatment of their siblings, kids, husbands, etc.

The difference this time was that every fairy approaching the Plaza was armed with an illegal softnose laser.

This had happened once before, when Opal Koboi had tried to take over Haven. But that had been an attack force of Triad Goblins. This group had a mixture of all the Fairies in Haven, even a few from Atlantis.

"Ummm…" Grub bubbled into his helmet comm. "Help?"

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"How'd we miss this?" Foaly muttered as he typed into his terminal.

"What in the name of Frond is going on in here!" Vinyaya shouted as she entered the control room with Trouble. Both noticed Skuld "Who's this?" she asked.

"Commanders Vinyaya and Kelp, Goddess Skuld. Goddess Skuld, Commander Sool." Foaly stated not even looking up from his terminal.

Vinyaya blinked, while Trouble nodded at the Goddess.

"Been awhile." He said.

"We have problems." Artemis pointed at the main screen. "Unless I'm mistaken, those look like softnose lasers."

Holly looked closely at the screen.

"You aren't mistaken Artemis." She said, "Those are softnose lasers."

"Oh good. I'd hate to be wrong at a time like this."

Trouble looked at Foaly.

"Police Plaza?"

"Relax!" Foaly said, "Our weapons still work. The DNA cannons are coming online. You'll be getting your chance to pick their brains soon enough."

Flashes of light began to appear on the monitor.

"See, "Foaly said, "Nothing to worry about."

"Um, Foaly?" Juliet said softly.

"What?"

"What exactly do the DNA cannons do?"

"Well anyone who doesn't have their DNA programmed into them, they get blasted into unconsciousness." The Centaur then frowned, "Why do you ask?"

"Because no one is going unconscious."

"WHAT!??!"

Everyone in the room stared at the screen. The shots from the DNA cannons were hitting their targets. But the attacking Fairies didn't even react to the shots.

"That's impossible!!!" Foaly shouted, "The system is foolproof! Even Koboi couldn't screw this up!!!"

More lights flashed on the screen as LEP officers began to fire their Neutrinos at the oncoming force. But like the cannons, the Neutrinos had no effect on them.

The softnoses did have an effect on the LEP officers.

Scores of fairies in the green uniforms of LEP were dropping as the lasers found their marks. Warlock Paramedics raced about, trying to heal those that could be healed. It was like watching a repeat of the Goblin Triad's attack on the Plaza years before, yet it was far worse.

"This might be a good time to call a retreat." Skuld murmured.

"She's right." Artemis said to the Commanders. "Your weapons are ineffective against those Fairies."

"Foaly." Vinyaya said grimly, "Send the evac signal. We'll regroup in sector 67."

"Sector 67?" Foaly repeated, "But that's….."

"I know where it is Foaly." Vinyaya said sternly. "Do it." Foaly quickly began to relay the order.

"What is Sector 67?" Artemis asked.

"A last resort." It was Holly who had answered, her face white in fear and shock. "It's a area deep underground, even deeper then Haven. It was to be the last holdout of the Fairies if the Mudmen ever succeeded in driving us out of Haven."

"It's currently occupied by the Demons." Trouble added.

Skuld perked up at this, looking slightly confused.

"Anything is better then staying here." Juliet muttered.

"Uh oh."

Everyone looked at Foaly.

"I know I'm going to regret this." Vinyaya said slowly, "But what?"

"I figured out why the DNA cannons aren't working."

"And?"

"There's some kind of gas interfering with them." Foaly replied, "It's rapidly filling Haven."

"Spreading through the ventilation systems." Artemis murmured. "Are we…."

"What kind of Genius do you take me for?" Foaly retorted, "Of course this place is positively pressurized. We are breathing wonderfully clean, filtered, ungassed air." He then turned back to his screen. "And so long as they are wearing their helmets, so are the LEP officers.

Artemis turned to Vinyaya.

"I don't suppose you have three extra large helmets laying around here?" he asked, indicating himself, Juliet, and Skuld.

"Uh oh."

Everyone whirled on Foaly.

"Would you knock off the 'uh ohs' already!" Trouble snapped.

"Sorry! But whoever is attacking us has forces between us and the tunnel to Sector 67." Foaly replied, "We're cut off from it."

Trouble seemed to sag. "Then we've had it."

"Maybe not." Skuld said. She turned and looked at Vinyaya. "I can have help from the Heavens here in no time. They can clear the way for us."

Vinyaya didn't even give it a second thought.

"Call for help." she said.

Skuld gave a small smirk, then walked to a terminal.

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LEP officers tried to fight their way through to the Sector 67 tunnel. But their attempt was failing badly. Grub was already believing that they were doomed when a curious thing happened.

A fog seemed to move in between the LEP forces and the attackers. When the fog vanished, most of the attackers lay unmoving on the ground, some in several pieces.

"What in the name of…." Grub began to say before he heard a chuckle.

Turning around, Grub found himself staring into golden armor. Looking upward, he discovered the armor belong to what appeared to be another Valkyrie with dark hair. Behind her stood seven more of the women warriors of Heaven.

Grub stared a moment longer, then promptly wet himself and fainted.

"We get that reaction a lot." The lead Valkyrie stated to the other LEP Officers.

"Who are you?" One of the officers asked.

"Commander Mist," the Valkyrie replied, "Commander of the Valkyries and the Forces of Heaven.

"Welcome to Haven." Another Officer said, giving the now smoking city a glance. "Or what's left of it."

Mist smiled. "Let's see if we can't just save it now shall we?"

"Commander!"

Mist turned and looked at one of the Valkyrie behind her.

"What is it Harmony?"

Harmony replied by pointing. Mist turned to see that the attackers they had just taken out were rising to their feet again. Even those missing limbs. Mist raised in eyebrow.

"Well now this is interesting." She murmured.

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Vinyaya, Trouble, Artemis, Juliet, Foaly, Skuld, and Holly all moved quickly through the halls towards the exit. Foaly, being more stable then the others with four legs, was able to carry and look through a laptop connected to the main computer.

"Major Littleton reports that the Council is on its way. They'll met up with us at the exit." The Centaur said, "Captain Frond reports that most of the civilian population is under the influence of the gas. The few who aren't are either running for their lives, looting, or just sitting and waiting for the end. Captain Kelp reports that he has been joined by some Valkyries, and wants his mommy." Trouble grumbled some rather nasty comments regarding his sibling. Foaly winced, then blinked at his screen. "We've encountered a new problem."

"What kind of problem?" Vinyaya asked.

"The attackers won't stay down."

"What!??!"

"Several reports are coming in saying they're like zombies or something." Foaly replied.

"It's worse then that." Skuld said, "I didn't have a chance to say anything during the excitement. I figured out what that spike you saw was."

"And?" Artemis asked.

Skuld face showed no emotion as she glanced at Artemis.

"It's Demonic." She stated, "These Fairies are probably possessed."

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"POSSESSED!??!?!" The LEP Officer who'd taken change from the unconscious Grub shouted.

"Yeah," Foaly's voice came over his come, "Think Mesmered, only by a Demon. The gas might have something to do with it as well."

The Officer stared off at the attacking Fairies, then looked at Mist. The Valkyrie Commander looked slightly ill, after all the Valkyries had chopped up several dozen of the Fairies when they arrived.

Attacking someone in battle was one thing, attacking someone who had no control over themselves was another.

"Damn Demons." She swore.

_They'll get theirs._ Skuld's voice said in her head.

_Rogue Demons?_ Mist asked.

_Most likely._

"Damn." Mist swore again.

_Delay them as long as you can._

_Agreed._

Mist turned and looked at the other Valkyries moving about. She silently passed the order on to them.

The LEP Officer had seen the look on Mist's face. He then saw her glance at the other Valkyries. Almost immediately he noticed the change in their tactics.

"How did you….?" He began.

"Telepathy." Mist replied, "We need to delay the attackers long enough for your council to escape."

The Officer shook his head. "Easier said then done. Our weapons are ineffective, and now so are yours."

"There are many ways to delay a force without attacking them." Mist replied.

The Officer blinked a moment, then smiled. He quickly turned to a fellow Captain.

"Go get the heavy explosives." He ordered, "We're going to create a few barricades."

"With what?" the Captain asked.

The officer pointed. "We're bringing down the buildings."

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"This won't be tolerated!" Cahartez bellowed, his voice muffled by the helmet he and the other council members were forced to wear to keep from being gassed as they were led through the streets by a group of LEP Officers. As they walked, loud explosions echoed throughout Haven as buildings were blasted along the way towards the Tunnel.

Cahartez looked behind him, where Artemis, Juliet, Foaly, Trouble, Vinyaya, Holly, and Skuld were walking. The two mudmen were wearing helmets that the Goddess had modified from the fairy ones. The Goddess seemed unaffected by the gas, and thus, went helmetless.

"Mark my words Goddess!" he cried out, "There will be repercussions!"

Skuld shook her head as another explosion echoed across the city.

"Why do they always assume we can control the Demons?" she muttered.

""Well can't you?" Juliet asked.

Skuld glanced at the bodyguard.

"If we could, "the Goddess said, "Then there would be peace and harmony all over the world. No conflicts, no war, no disease……"

"Sounds like paradise."

"Perhaps, but it's unattainable." Skuld replied, "Without the Darkness, there can be no Light. Everyone has the capacity to do evil." She then sighed. "Even the Gods."

"The Gods?"

"About a week or two back, one God decided he could run things better. To help him take over, he convinced half the Demons in Hell to join him. The result was that Heaven and Earth were plunged into Darkness."

Artemis and Foaly's heads snapped to face the Goddess.

"That's why the planet was dark?" Foaly asked, "Demons were fighting Heaven?"

"Worse. Demons conquered Heaven."

Artemis frowned. "I don't see how Demons could take Heaven. I mean, they have only two Warlocks and they…."

"And No1 seemed like such a nice guy." Foaly added.

Skuld blinked. "I think we're getting confused here. I'm referring to Demons from Hell."

Artemis and Foaly blinked.

"Oh." They both said together.

"Well obviously you kicked them out of Heaven." Juliet said.

"Yeah, we beat them back." Skuld replied, her voice breaking slightly, "But at a heavy price."

"What about Sayoko?" Holly asked, curious about the young Goddess.

"She fought too. And nearly died."

The group walked in silence for several more blocks. Then with a shout from up front, the group stopped in their tracks.

Blocking their way into the tunnel was a large group of possessed Fairies. The scary thing was that several of them appeared to be 'new' recruits. There were even a few in LEP uniforms, minus helmets.

"This is bad." Foaly whispered.

"They can possess others." Artemis murmured, "We're all in danger."

"Not while I'm here." Skuld growled. She moved forward, pushing her way to the front.

Once she reached the front, smoke swirled about her. When it cleared, she was wearing a mostly white outfit with red highlights. She was now clad in boots and leggings that vanished under a broad overcoat, the back of which flapped slightly. On her head was a helmet similar to the ones that Valkyries wore, complete with an eye shield. She twirled what looked like a croquet mallet in her right hand.

She stared at the assembled possessed fairies. The fairies raised softnose lasers at her and began to fire.

The lasers never reach Skuld.

A blue shield flared into existence before her, blocking the lasers and reflecting them into the surrounding buildings.

"NOBLE SCARLET!!!" Skuld shouted out, "I COULD USE SOME HELP!!"

At first the others thought that another Goddess had shown up and that Skuld was calling to them. Then bright white wings burst from the Goddess' back, followed by the body of a small brown-haired girl. Everyone gasped as the small figure floated free of the Goddess and hovered just off to the side.

"Oh my god." Juliet whispered, "That….that looks like….."

"An Angel." Artemis said in complete awe.

The Angel floated above Skuld and seemed to take in the scene a moment, before flying off to the side. Noble Scarlet brought her hands together and a jet of water blasted forth, sending the possessed Fairies tumbling down the street.

Skuld waited until the possessed Fairies had all been washed away, before turning to the others.

"Shall we?" she asked.

The others started forward when another possessed fairy popped out from a nearby building and fired. The laser beam clipped Skuld's left shoulder.

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Belldandy's head snapped up, her eyes wide.

"What is it?" Urd asked.

"Skuld's hurt." Belldandy whispered. She then turned and headed out of her office, her elder sister right behind her.

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Sayoko was re-bandaging her arm when she felt it. She immediately dropped the bandage roll, allowing it to spill out onto the floor. She then ran across her room and dove into the mirror above her dresser.

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The Goddess cried out in pain, grabbing her shoulder as she fell to her knees.

Artemis noted that Noble Scarlet seemed to react the same, clutching her own shoulder before fading away.

The LEP Officers quickly opened fire on the possessed Fairy, but their shots had no effect. More possessed Fairies began to march in, surrounding the Group.

Juliet moved in front of Artemis, assuming a fighting stance. Holly took aim with a Neutrino. The Council members all huddled close together, Vinyaya and Trouble standing nearby, Neutrinos raised.

"Looks like this is it Mudboy." Holly said.

Artemis looked around.

"I don't suppose it'd be too much to hope that Mulch Diggums is somewhere around here?"

Holly smirked. "He'd probably gas us as well as them."

"Just as well." Artemis glanced over at the Centaur. "Was nice working with you again Foaly."

"You're not as bad as most Mud men." The Centaur replied, "At least not any……."

The Centaur went quiet. Artemis frowned and looked at Juliet. Her face was filled with confusion. He then turned to Holly. The Elf's eyes had gone wide in shock. The other Fairies were showing the same shock. Artemis knelt down and grabbed Holly by the shoulders.

"What is it?" he asked.

Holly blinked and looked at him.

"A Goddess." She whispered.

Artemis looked over towards Skuld. The Goddess was laying on the ground and didn't seem likely to get up anytime soon.

"Skuld's down." He said.

"No." Holly said, shaking her head. "This one's stronger."

"What?"

That's when he felt a breeze, which was odd considering that Haven was underground. The breeze became stronger. Then it whipped around and circled the group. Artemis stared in amazement as just feet from him, hurricane force winds were whipping around the group, sucking the possessed fairies up and sending them tumbling through the air. The winds then parted slightly, clearing a path straight into the tunnel.

"What do we do?" Cahartez practically screamed.

A figure appeared in the path, a Goddess obviously. She wore white boots and a kind of unitard. Over this, she wore a blue outfit that was vaguely similar to the goddess robes they had seen Belldandy wearing. Blue gantlets covered the lower part of her arms becoming fingerless gloves on her hands. From under the gantlets and up her arms were white bandages. Dark brown hair fluttered about from under the helmet on her head.

"COME ON!" the Goddess shouted.

The Council members and their LEP escort quickly ran towards the Tunnel, Foaly right behind them. Juliet paused only briefly to pick up Skuld as she, Artemis, and Holly ran for the tunnel. As they reached the unknown Goddess, she turned and helped Juliet with Skuld.

Outside the wind continued to blow.

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The sound of footsteps echoed in the Tunnel that led to Sector 67. Along the tunnel ceiling ran several conduits for water, electricity, as well as plasma.

"Nice timing." Holly said to the Goddess as they followed the others down the tunnel. "You couldn't have cut it a little closer?"

"Sorry." The Goddess replied in an oddly familiar voice. "But I had problems finding this place."

Artemis frowned.

"But Skuld made it here." He said, "I would have thought you would know….."

"It doesn't work that way." The Goddess replied.

"Then how does it…" Artemis began before laser shot over his head.

The beam slammed into the water conduit. The conduit shattered, first bursting with superheated steam as the laser beam had heated the water to boiling. Within seconds, the steam was replaced by a stream of water.

"Damn!" the Goddess cursed. She gave Juliet a look. "Can you handle her?"

Juliet nodded. The Goddess released Skuld and started back the way they had come.

"Hey wait a second!" Holly shouted, "You can't go back there!"

The Goddess ignored the Elf and continued walking.

"Hey!" Holly shouted again. This time she started after the Goddess.

"Holly!" Artemis shouted. He went after her.

"Artemis!" Juliet shouted. She struggled with the unconscious Skuld, trying to turn and see what her principle was doing..

The Goddess continued back down the Tunnel. As she walked, she reached up under her helmet to her ear and the earring that was there. She took off a piece of that earring and lowered it to her side. The piece of earring expanded until it became a six foot long quarterstaff.

She paused in the middle of the tunnel, waiting for the oncoming attackers.

"What do you think you're doing?!?!"

The Goddess glanced over her shoulder to see a very annoyed Holly Short glaring at her.

"What are you both doing?" Artemis said as he approached. "This is suicidal."

"So was following me." The Goddess stated.

"You didn't have to go off on your own!" Holly snapped.

"Says the Elf that never waited for back-up." The Goddess retorted.

Holly blinked in surprise.

"How did you know th….."

She never finished as laser beams slammed all around them. One laser beam hit a plasma conduit running along the ceiling. The plasma exploded, shattering rocks all around it and opening fissures along the tunnel. One such fissure opened in the floor underneath the Goddess, Holly, and Artemis. With a shout, the three vanished into the fissure, followed by much of the tunnel roof.

Juliet stared in shock from where she stood as the ceiling of the tunnel continued to collapse, sealing the entrance off completely, and leaving no sign of Artemis, Holly, or the Goddess.

"Oh no." she whispered.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Juliet paced about the temporary operations center in Sector 67. Foaly watched the mudwoman move from one side to the other at a frantic pace. Nearby, the Demon Warlock Qwan was treating the unconscious Skuld's shoulder, aided by No1. The two Demons had met the escapees from Haven on arrival in Sector 67. The Council itself was now occupying one of the Demon school buildings.

"How could they have been so stupid." Juliet muttered, "Why didn't I got after them? How could I leave my principle alone?"

"Aren't you being a bit rough on yourself?" Foaly asked.

Juliet grabbed Foaly by the shoulders and shook him.

"NO BUTLER HAS EVER LOST A FOWL AS LONG AS THEY LIVED!!!!" she shouted, "NO ONE!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT CONCEPT!?!?!?"

"…..ice cream…..……"

Juliet and Foaly both turned to see Skuld slowly waking up.

"Ice cream?" Foaly repeated.

"A frozen treat favored by Mudmen." No1 stated.

"By why does a Goddess want it?"

"I don't know." Juliet replied. She inhaled deeply, then slowly released it. "So, can we find them?"

"I hate to say it," Foaly replied, his voice very soft. "But we don't even know if they're alive. And I doubt we'll find out anytime soon."

Juliet nodded, then looked back at the Goddess.

"If anyone one would know, she would."

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Artemis felt a dull pain come from all over his body as he regained consciousness. There also seemed to be a weight on his chest. Opening his eyes, all he could see was darkness.

"Hello?" he called out. His voice echoed around him, and was answered by a groan from somewhere nearby.

Realizing that his hands and arms seemed unbroken, he immediately began to feel around try and figure out what was on his chest. His hands encountered something soft. He continued to feel around the object until he felt a small hand. His eyes widened in shock as he realized he had just felt up Holly!

Thank god she was unconscious.

"Artemis…." Can a low deadly voice.

Oh no……..

The weight vanished from his chest.

"YOU GROPED ME!!!!" Holly's voice shrieked in the darkness. Artemis tried to figure out where she was, but her voice was echoing around him.

"I DIDN'T MEAN TO!!!!" Artemis shouted back, looking in a direction he hoped Holly was standing in.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU…….." Holly's voice went silent. "Hey, I'm over here."

"I can't tell." Artemis replied, squinting towards the sound of her voice. "I can't see a damn thing."

"Why can't…." He then heard a sound of something impacting on skin. "Oh! That's right. Because I live down here I can see better in darkness then you can."

"Makes sense." Artemis replied, "You work mostly at night. Your night vision is probably much better then mine." He then frowned. "Though why the elf eye you gave me isn't working in the dark……"

"The eye I 'gave' you?""

"Traded then." Artemis asked, "What do you see?"

It was silent a moment.

"Not much." She replied glumly, "We seem to be in a tunnel. Only one way to go though, other end has a huge pile of rocks blocking the way."

Artemis slowly rose to his feet. He felt stiff all over.

"That's probably from where we dropped in." he remarked, "By the way, are you injured?"

"No." Holly replied, "You?"

"I don't seem to be." He frowned, "Which considering our fall, seems unlikely."

"I was on top of you remember?" Holly's voice came through slightly annoyed. "My magic healed me……."

"…and because I was in contact with you, I healed." Artemis finished.

"Used up a lot of my magic mudboy……"

"It's not like I planned this." Artemis retorted, "And I thought you were going to stop it with the 'mudboy' comments?"

"Fine 'Arty'."

Artemis winced.

"Ok, Mudboy is fine."

"Whatever." He heard footsteps walking away. He started to follow, but only succeeded in walking into the pile of rocks from the collapse.

"Holly?" he called out.

"What is it?" she snapped back.

"I……"

He heard her let out a sigh, then the footsteps drew closer. He felt a small hand grab his.

"Don't read anything into this." She growled, "It's easier to lead you around."

Artemis decided against saying anything. The two started off, but didn't take more then three steps before Artemis tripped on something. He fell to the ground, with Holly underneath him.

"I'm really going to hurt you Artemis."

"I'm sorry." Artemis replied, "But I tripped on something."

"Your own feet or a rock?"

"It didn't feel like a rock." Artemis slowly turned around and felt the floor for what he had tripped on.

After a moment of feeling around, he felt a bit of fabric under his hand. He followed the fabric with his fingertips, until he brushed up against something warm. Grabbing the object, Artemis realized what it was.

An arm.

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Skuld paced around the room, muttering to herself. She'd been doing this since contacting Heaven after being told her Niece was missing.

Foaly typed away on his laptop, still trying to figure out where Underhill was as well as swatting No1's fingers away.

Juliet sat in the corner, watching the Goddess pace about, starting to feel a bit dizzy. After what seemed like the thirtieth lap, she finally stood up and into the way of Skuld.

"Would you please stop the pacing!' she snapped, "You're driving me nuts!"

"Well I'm sorry!" Skuld snapped back, "I'm worried about Sayoko alright!!"

"And I'm worried about Arty and Holly. But you don't see me pacing……"

A thunderclap interrupted them as the Valkyries appeared along with several very surprised looking LEP officers. Qwan came running into the room.

"What was…..?" He then spotted the Valkyries. "Oh….you."

"Yes…..me." One of the Valkyries replied. She then turned as Commanders Vinyaya and Trouble entered the room. "We regret to inform you that much of Haven has been turned to rubble."

"It couldn't be helped, "One of the LEP Officers said, "If we didn't, the civilians wouldn't have made it to Atlantis."

Vinyaya and Trouble sighed in relief with the knowledge that some of Haven's population had escaped. Juliet also felt better, until she saw Skuld's face.

The Goddess looked very grim at the Valkyries. Juliet frowned, wondering why.

"Where are Harmony and Katrina?" she asked.

Juliet blinked as the Valkyrie's dropped their heads. There were only six here. They had arrived with eight.

"They have….moved on." Mist replied.

Skuld closed her eyes in silent prayer. When she opened them, they were filled with a determination that Juliet had never seen before.

"Foaly." Skuld said, her voice demanding immediate attention. "What do you need to find Underhill?"

"A more powerful computer." Foaly replied, "It seems my connection to the Plaza mainframe is gone."

Skuld nodded. "Then we'll just have to go to a powerful computer."

Mist looked at Skuld in shock.

"You can't be serious!" the Valkyrie Commander shouted, "Yggdrasil isn't even at…."

"I didn't mean Yggdrasil." Skuld replied.

Mist looked confused.

"Then what?"

Skuld turned and looked at Foaly.

"Ever been to Japan?"

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Artemis and Holly grunted as they moved the last rocks off of the body. At least Holly had told Artemis they were the last rocks. He still couldn't see a damn thing.

"Well?" he asked.

He heard a grunt and a thump as Holly rolled the body onto it's back.

"It's a Goddess." Holly said, surprise in her voice. "That one that saved us."

"Who is it?" Artemis asked, "Is it Belldandy?"

He heard the sound of a helmet tossed of to the side.

"Looks like her." Holly replied, "And she's alive."

Artemis let out a sigh of relief. Maybe the Goddess could get them out of where ever they were.

"Can you heal her?"

"I'll try."

Holly placed her hands on the Goddess' chest.

"Heal!" the Elf stated.

Blue sparks lit up the space, causing Artemis to blink. The sparks had barely begun when there was a brilliant flash of white, causing Artemis to close his eyes and turn away. At the same time he heard a shout of surprise and a loud thump.

"OW!!" Holly shouted.

Artemis looked around. Now all he could see was the afterimage of the flash.

"What happened?" he asked, not sure where Holly was.

"Something tossed me." Holly replied, her voice slightly pained.

"You mean she…?"

"No." the Elf replied, "It's like, well….I don't know."

"I do." Came a new voice.

Before either Artemis or Holly could speak, a bright glow filled the area. Artemis blinked several times before his eyes adjusted to the light.

Like Holly had said, they were in a tunnel, one end of which was blocked by debris. The Goddess was indeed the one that had saved them, and she looked to be Belldandy. A glowing sphere floated just over the Goddess' shoulder.

He noted that a fine layer of dust covered both the Goddess and Holly. Looking down, he saw that he too was covered in dust.

"So," he said, "How do we get out of here Belldandy?"

'Belldandy' scowled.

"I am not my mother." The Goddess grumbled.

Artemis and Holly both blinked in surprise. If her mother was Belldandy, then that made her…….

"Sayoko?" Holly asked.

The Goddess blinked back.

"Uhh…yes?"

She suddenly found herself engulfed in a hug from the elf.

"You grew up!" Holly exclaimed.

"Umm?" Sayoko asked, still wrapped in an elf hug. "Who are you people?"

Holly released the Goddess from the hug and stared at her wide eyed.

"You don't remember us?" she asked.

Sayoko shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't."

"How could you forget us?!" Holly exclaimed, "After all, we did…"

"Holly." Artemis called out softly.

"But Artemis!"

"It was a traumatic experience for her." Artemis replied, "It might have been repressed."

Holly slumped slightly.

"Oh."

"Wait…" Sayoko said, "You….are you talking about when I was kidnapped?"

Holly's eyes lit up. "So you DO remember us!"

"Actually no. Apparently I was given something that made me forget."

Holly sighed. "Well….you are bigger then the last time I saw you."

"We aren't starting this again." Artemis grumbled.

"Starting what?" Sayoko asked, confused.

"She says you grew up, then you reply she's still Short and…OW!" Artemis grabbed his shin where he'd just been kicked by Holly. Sayoko chuckled.

"So," Holly said, turning to Sayoko after glaring at Artemis. "Can you get us out of here?"

"No."

"No!??! What do you mean no?!?!"

"I don't have a medium to travel thru." Sayoko explained, "I need a reflective surface, like a mirror, to teleport."

"But those Valkyrie didn't need a medium." Artemis pointed out.

"Blitz uses lightning." Sayoko replied, "Mist uses….whatever she uses….you get the idea. The others probably 'hitchhiked' along with whoever's medium was the quickest."

"So you can't just appear?" Holly asked.

"No." Sayoko replied, "A God is trying to work out the kinks of that particular technique, especially considering the Demons can do it. Right now there's……. issues."

"Like?"

"Well," Sayoko scratched her head, "it took us a month to get him out of the wall."

Artemis and Holly both winced at the mental image.

"So if we can't leave," Holly started to ask, "How do we get out?"

"We have to figure that one out." Sayoko replied. She looked off down the tunnel in front of them. "This doesn't look natural. So maybe it's an old fairy tunnel. It might lead to a chute."

"And if it doesn't?"

"I'll be unhappy." The Goddess replied before walking off down the tunnel. Artemis and Holly quickly followed.

"So…" Artemis said as they caught up to Sayoko. "What exactly have you been up to?"

Sayoko's eyes flickered to him briefly.

"Not much until eight years ago."

Artemis' mind went back eight years, then he recalled where Sayoko and her Aunt had lived.

"You lived in Japan." He murmured. "The Angel wars."

Sayoko nodded.

Holly stared at the Goddess.

"Did you…" the elf began, "Did you see them?"

Sayoko nodded. "Not only saw them, fought them in my Eva as well."

Artemis and Holly stopped dead in their tracks.

"Your Eva?" Artemis repeated.

Sayoko turned back to face the other two.

"I am, was, the Fifth Child, designated Pilot of Evangelion Unit-4" she said.

"A Pilot." Holly whispered.

"When Juliet finds out she's going to go crazy." Artemis said, "Ever since the Evas were revealed to the world, she's been dying to meet a pilot."

"Foaly's been trying to find out about the pilots too." Holly added, "But he's was never able to get into the MAGI or the NORN."

Sayoko smiled.

"Doctor Akagi is the best."

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UN Base

Tokyo-2

Japan

The NORN facility.

Commander Misato Katsuragi waited patiently beside Doctor Ritsuko Akagi in the control room for the NORN supercomputers. Pacing about the room was Misato's assistant Asuka Langley Sohryu Ikari, former Second Child and Designated Pilot of Eva Unit-2. Seated at a terminal was Major Maya Ibuki. Through a window, they could see the three massive units that made up the NORN: URD, VERDANDI, and SKULD.

"She say when?" Ritsuko asked.

"Soon." Misato replied.

They had been contacted not long ago by Skuld. All present in the room knew exactly what Skuld was. Asuka herself was now a Guardian of Heaven and had her own powers now, though the only time she'd used them was to banish the possessed Unit-1 from Heaven.

"I can't believe we're just sitting here." Asuka grumbled.

"What else would we be doing?" Misato asked.

"Finding that asshole that's threatening the world!" Asuka shouted, "We ARE the UN after all!"

Misato sighed. "Asuka, you know I'm the Commander of UN Forces here in Tokyo-2 right?"

"Yeah."

"And you know there are a dozen or so Commanders like me around the world?"

"Yeah."

"So would it surprise you to know that there are people under me, and them, working on this?"

Asuka's face turned a slight shade of red.

"Ok, I get it." She said, "But I'd rather be doing something you know?"

Misato gave her assistant and evil smirk.

"Doing something? What about your husband?"

Asuka's eyes went wide, before narrowing into deadly slits.

"Warum Sie alte verdorbene Hure gerunzelt haben!!" she snapped.

Misato's eyes now narrowed.

"What was that?" she growled.

"Weibchen!!" Asuka snapped.

"Can you two behave?" Ritsuko shouted, "For crying out loud! There's a Goddess arriving here!"

"Um, Sempei?" Maya spoke up, "She's already here."

Misato, Ritsuko, and Asuka all whirled about to see Skuld, staring at them with a look of disappointment. Just behind her stood a blond haired woman who was staring at them in shock.

"I uh…." Misato stuttered.

Asuka quickly threw on a pleasant grin.

"Hello Auntie."

Skuld's face flashed quickly to annoyance.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Don't call me Auntie!!"

"Ok Auntie."

Skuld placed her face in her hands and let out a sigh of frustration. When she looked back up, she indicated the woman beside her.

"This is Juliet Butler. A bodyguard under the employ of Artemis Fowl."

Ritsuko blinked, "The Shipping Magnate?"

"Don't forget sometime criminal." Misato muttered.

"That's him." Came a voice from somewhere in the room.

Ritsuko, Misato, and Maya all looked around confused. Asuka however was looking at the spot just behind Juliet. There seemed to be something there, the air was shimmering slightly.

Asuka pointed at the spot and looked at Skuld.

"What's there?"

Skuld and Juliet didn't even look other at the spot.

"Well," Skuld began, "You four know about the existence of Gods and Demons so this may not be a complete shock."

She nodded at the shimmer. Suddenly two beings were standing there. One was a Centaur wearing a tin foil cap on his head. The other was an elf, complete with pointed ears, in a green uniform. Neither was much taller then three feet.

"These are fairies." Skuld explained.

"Like Morgan?" Asuka asked.

The Fairies both turned and looked at Skuld curiously.

"I'll explain later." The Goddess said to them, before looking back at Asuka. "The subject of Morgan le Fay is something for her to explain. These Fairies are different. The Elf is named Trouble Kelp, and he's with LEPrecon. And the centaur is Foaly."

"And they're here because?" Misato asked.

"Foaly is LEP's computer genius." Skuld explained. Foaly seemed to puff out his chest proudly at that. "Trouble is here to keep Foaly out of trouble." Foaly deflated slightly and glared at Skuld.

"But why are they here?"

"You caught the little bit at the end of that guy's message right" Skuld asked. Seeing the nods, she continued. "He's a fairy, and he's now taken over a fairy city. They are here because they've have a better chance of finding him, with your help."

"And how can we help?" Ritsuko asked.

Foaly walked forward, holding his laptop.

"We've been able to trace his message through several servers." Foaly explained, "We just had a possible breakthrough when we were driven out of Haven."

"What breakthrough?" Misato asked.

"The guy's a Demon." Skuld stated.

Misato raised an eyebrow.

"More Demons?" she asked.

Skuld shrugged, "They don't give up."

Misato turned to tell Ritsuko to help, but the Doctor and Foaly had already wondered over to the main NORN terminal, rattling off technical phrases that cause her head to spin.

Looking back at Skuld, she asked. "So where's Sayoko?"

Both Juliet and Skuld stiffened slightly before the goddess answered.

"Underground somewhere with Fowl and an Elf."

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"So what was it like?"

Sayoko glanced over her shoulder.

"Eh?"

"Piloting an Eva." Holly said, "How was it?"

"The scariest thing I'd ever done." The Goddess replied, "after all, I was only fourteen."

"Only fourteen?!" Holly stated, "How could they let a fourteen year old pilot an Eva and fight monstrous creatures."

"You don't quite understand." Sayoko explained, "All the pilots were fourteen. I happened to be the second oldest of the bunch." She faced forward as they continued down the tunnel. "From what I understand, when Second Impact wiped out Antarctica, it put out some particles that affected children still in the womb. The result was that only those born after the Impact could pilot Eva."

"So what made it scary?" Artemis asked, "The Angels?"

"Yeah." The Goddess replied. She seemed to be walking a bit quicker. "But what made it really bad was during the fight, you felt what the Eva did."

Artemis and Holly's eyes went wide, the elf's more so. Foaly had found a few video files that showed several of the fights between Eva and Angel and he'd showed them to Holly. In one of them, an Angel had driven it's tentacles through the chest of Unit-1. The Eva had continued to move, driving it's knife deep into the Angel's core.

"So if the Eva was stabbed through the chest?" Holly asked.

Sayoko nodded. "You felt it. But that wasn't the worst one."

"What was?" Artemis asked.

Sayoko stopped dead in her tracks. She slowly turned and looked at them. Her face was startling. It held no emotion as she spoke.

"Two of my friends went up to face an Angel that was hovering in space." She said in a monotone voice. "It never left space, but it attacked Asuka. It forced it's way into her mind, pulling her deepest and darkest memories out." Her eyes closed. "The other pilot couldn't hit it. It's AT-field, it's shield, blocked her shot. They launched me to try and get Asuka out of the way. But it got me too." She opened her eyes. The neutral expression was gone from her face, now replaced by one of pain.

"It……" Her voice trailed off. She shook her head. "I spent almost two months in a coma. Asuka closer to three. We both had nightmares afterward of the attack………and the memories that had been brought up. And because I'm a Goddess, I can never forget it." She then turned and walked off down the tunnel, leaving Artemis and Holly behind.

"So that's the price of being a God." Artemis whispered. "And why she was given something to suppress her memory."

"Huh?" Holly turned and looked at Artemis curiously. "What do you mean?"

"You heard her." he looked down at the elf. "She can't forget. She'll always remember."

"So she has a good memory." Holly replied, "So what?"

"Holly." Artemis said softly, "She's immortal."

Now Holly understood. With a life of infinite, Sayoko would remember every event, both positive and negative, that happened to her, including those she could never forget.

"She'll remember everyone she meets." Artemis whispered, "and be forced to watch them grow old……and die."

"Artemis." Holly quickly said. She realized that it was her fate, in a way. The Fairy life span was longer then a mud man's. Far longer. She'd wouldn't even be near middle age when Artemis and Juliet……….

Artemis noticed the look on Holly's face. He had an idea what was running through her head. He was a genius after all. Taking a deep breath, he placed his arm around her and pulled her closer to him.

"Don't think about that." He said, "It's still a long way off."

Holly nodded and the two started after the Goddess.

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Ritsuko, Foaly, and Skuld worked silently, each somehow knowing what the others wanted. Occasionally one of them would ask Maya to do something. The Major carried out the command regardless who spoke.

Misato, Juliet, and Trouble watched the four in awe.

"How do they do that?" Juliet asked.

"I'm not sure I want to know." Trouble replied.

The door to the control room opened, admitting Asuka. She walked quickly up to Misato.

"She called." Asuka stated.

"And?" Misato asked.

"She's on her way here."

"Right." Misato looked at Juliet and Trouble. "You two ought to come along."

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Misato entered her office and sat down behind her desk, Asuka right behind her. Juliet and Trouble both sat down on a couch set against the wall.

"Commander?" Juliet asked, "Who is coming?"

"A friend." Misato replied, "I took care of her daughter back in Tokyo-3."

"A pilot?" Juliet asked. She knew that the Commander had once been the tactical officer for the Evas in Tokyo-3.

"Yes." Misato answered, "And if I understand it correctly, you met her."

"I did?" Juliet frowned.

"Yes. Sayoko."

Juliet and Trouble both stared at the Commander.

"Sayoko was a pilot?" Juliet asked, "But she's so young!"

Misato picked a picture frame off her desk and handed it over to Juliet. Juliet held it in her lap allowing Trouble to see it as well.

The picture didn't look that old. Misato was standing in the center of a group of teens, wearing a red flight jacket and a beret. The teens were dressed in skintight outfits, almost flight suit like, each with a number on their chest. Three teens stood to Misato's left, the other two to her right.

Juliet and Trouble both easily picked out Sayoko. She was the only one with markings on her face and cheeks. Her flight suit had the numbers 04 on it. They were surprised though when they discovered Misato's red haired assistant also in the photograph, 02 on her suit.

"You were a pilot?" Juliet asked the assistant.

"Asuka Langley Sohryu Ikari," Asuka said proudly, "Second Child and designated Pilot of Unit-2." She then smirked. "Charmed I'm sure."

"Actually, my favorite was Unit-1."

The smile vanished from Asuka's face.

"What is it with that damn Eva?" She muttered as she turned away, "Everyone loves the freaky Unit-1."

"I was actually partial to Unit-4." Trouble spoke up.

"Sayoko's Eva." Misato said, "She was the Fifth Child."

"Hey Misato." Asuka called out, "She's here."

Misato looked over at the mirror on her wall. Juliet and Trouble looked as well. The mirror was glowing, flashing a variety of colors. For a brief moment, they caught sight of a beautiful city before a figure appeared, blocking the view. Then figure burst forth from the mirror and landed lightly upon the floor of the office. Juliet and Trouble both recognized Belldandy from the earlier communication in Haven. There was no mistaking Belldandy for a Goddess now that she was present in the room. She was far more beautiful in person, and she had a powerful presence to her, one of innocence and caring. But she seemed weary and tired, most likely because of the current situation with her daughter.

"Hello Belldandy." Misato said.

"Hello Misato." Belldandy replied, a small smile appearing on her face. "Asuka, how are you?"

"Just fine." Asuka replied.

Belldandy glanced over at Juliet and Trouble.

"I remember you from earlier." She said, "Hello again."

"Ma'am." Juliet said with a nod. She didn't know just what to call her. Her presence was that powerful.

Trouble was only able to nod. He could feel the magic of the Goddess, far stronger then anything he'd felt yet, even more so then the Valkyrie.

Misato indicated the chair before her desk. Belldandy sat down in it and let out a sigh.

"Rough day at the office?" Misato asked.

"Saturn may have figured out what's going on." Belldandy replied, "He's become far too interested in where Skuld and the Valkyries have gone. More so since we lost Harmony and Katrina."

"He's always been a prick." Misato said with a nod.

"You've been listening to Skuld rant again."

"Hard not to."

Belldandy smiled. "She can get worked up, can't she? The problem right now is Demonic."

"Have you asked Hild?"

"No. Hild has enough on her plate."

"What about Mana?"

"Occupied with something according to Mara."

"I'm sure she'd drop it if you told her." Asuka spoke up.

Belldandy waved the suggestion off.

"The way Mara put it, I don't think it could be dropped that easily."

Silence.

"How's Keiichi handling it?"

"Like me I suppose." Belldandy said, "At least she's alive, even if we aren't quite sure where." The Goddess looked down at her hands. "She'll be alright, don't you think?"

Misato raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you the one supposed to be telling me that?"

"I don't know anymore." The Goddess' voice was practically a whisper.

"She'll be fine." Asuka stated firmly, "She survived several Angel attacks, she survived Mana and other Demon, and she kicked Loki's ass. She'll be fine."

"Besides she's with Artemis and Holly." Juliet said from the couch, "They've been in tough spots before and gotten out fine."

Belldandy nodded.

"Thank you," she said, "I needed to hear that." She rose to her feet. "Now I need to see Keiichi." With a wave, she vanished into the mirror.

"Now I know we're in trouble." Trouble said.

"What do you mean?" Misato asked.

"We're reassuring a Goddess."

"We told her the truth." Asuka said, "The truth as we know it at least."

"And that helps how?" the elf asked.

"She would have known if we lied." Juliet pointed out.

"And we believe that our friends will make it." Misato added, "The fact that we believe means more to her then you can possibly know."


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

They'd been walking for over an hour and the tunnel kept going on. They paused several times for breaks, sitting down and resting their tired feet. It was just after one of these breaks that Holly noticed something about Sayoko. She grabbed Artemis' elbow and slowed him down, allowing the Goddess to move ahead of them.

"What is it?" he asked when there was a bit of distance between them and the Goddess.

"Sayoko's injured."

"How can you tell?"

"Her left side." Holly pointed out, "There's blood."

Artemis frowned, and looked at Sayoko's side. He wasn't able to see anything, but then they had dropped back a bit. He quickly picked up his pace to move closer. As he grew closer, he spotted the blood. Sayoko also seemed to be having a bit of difficulty breathing.

"You're injured." He finally said.

"I've been injured." Sayoko replied.

"You're bleeding."

Sayoko stopped and looked down at her side. She moved aside part of the blue cape to reveal the white unitard. There on her side was a line of red.

"Damn." She waved her hand. In a flash, the outfit she had been wearing was replaced by sneakers, jean shorts, and a t-shirt. She slid the t-shirt up enough to reveal a vicious bleeding scar that ran from the front of her stomach to her back on the left side.

"I might be able to heal that." Holly said, stepping forward.

"You won't." Sayoko replied. She'd pulled a bandage from the pocket of her shorts and was busy wrapping it around her midsection. "Nothing will."

Artemis' mind had been working since the wound had come into view.

"That wasn't caused by the rocks was it?" he asked.

"No." the Goddess replied.

"Then what….."

"I fought a Demon about a week or two ago." She replied. "It wasn't pretty."

"What happened?" Holly asked, her eyes still staring at the bandage.

"Well………"

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Two weeks before.

Sayoko dove for cover behind a car. An energy bolt sailed over her head, crashing into a building.

"Jeez," she muttered, "They just won't quit."

Sayoko stood up and pointed her staff at the Demon. A beam of light flashed from the end of the staff. The Demon just barely got out of the way. The beam hit a lamp post, causing the entire post to be frozen in ice.

"Damn," she muttered, "I missed."

"But I won't!"

Sayoko turned to see the Demon coming at her with a sword. She raised her staff and blocked him as he tried to slice into her. Sayoko went on the defensive as she parried and dodged the Demon's strikes. The Demon came at her with a vicious slice that used both his hands. Sayoko brought her staff up to block, but the force the Demon put behind the blade shattered the staff into two pieces. The blade continued, slicing into Sayoko's side. Sayoko screamed in pain and fell back. The Demon stood over her preparing to deliver the death blow.

"Good-bye Goddess." He said.

As he started to bring the blade down, a blue blur slammed into him, knocking the demon flat. Sayoko, holding her side, turned and looked at her savior. Belldandy, her mother, stood posed above the Demon, her staff pointed right at the Demon's face.

"You hurt my DUAGHTER!" she growled angrily. Before the Demon could respond, the staff fired its beam, freezing the Demon in place. Belldandy turned and looked at Sayoko.

"SAYOKO!" she shouted rushing to her daughter's side.

"Momma…." said Sayoko before darkness claimed her.

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Present day

"Demon blades are cursed blades." Sayoko explained, "So it will never truly heal." She let go of her shirt, allowing it to covered the now bandaged wound and started walking again.

"Hey wait a minute!" Holly called out as she raced to catch up to Sayoko.

The Goddess glanced down at the Elf as she walked.

"What?"

"Well, I have unanswered questions." Holly replied.

"Like?"

"Well…uhh….." Holly glanced back at Artemis.

Artemis sighed.

"She wants the ultimate answer." He said, "Life, the universe, everything."

"Life, the Universe, and everything?" Sayoko repeated, "You really want the answer?"

"Well……yeah." Holly stated.

"I'm curious as well." Artemis added, "After all, think of the money I could make writing a book on….."

Sayoko sighed.

"You aren't going to like it." She muttered.

"Try us." Holly said.

"The ultimate answer to life, the universe, and everything………." Sayoko began.

"Yes?"

"……is 42."

Holly and Artemis both stopped walking and started at Sayoko.

"42?" Artemis repeated.

Sayoko nodded.

"Told you you wouldn't be happy with it."

"WHAT KIND OF AN ANSWER IS 42?!?!" Holly shouted.

"Best one I can give you."

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They'd been walking for another two hours when they found it. Part of the tunnel wall had collapsed, revealing a large chute. The three stood on the edge, looking downward. They could just make out the glow of the hot magma far below.

"Is this an active chute?" Artemis asked.

"I don't know." Holly replied, "I don't even know where we are."

"Doesn't look like the fairies have used this one." Sayoko said, looking upward. "There's a lot of obstructions up there."

Holly looked up. "Not too bad. A shuttle jock could handle it fine."

"But does it lead out?" Artemis asked.

Sayoko closed her eyes a moment.

"Morning Bell…." She whispered.

Artemis and Holly both stepped back in surprise as bright white wings burst from Sayoko's back, followed by the body of an Angel. The Angel floated around to face Sayoko. The Goddess opened her eyes.

"Go check out the chute please." She said, "We need to know if it leads out."

Morning Bell nodded, then shot out into the chute.

"What was…..?" Holly began.

"My Angel." Sayoko replied, her eyes following Morning Bell upward. "All Goddesses who come into their power can have them."

"So what do we do now?"

"Rest." Artemis stated as he sat down. "We obviously won't be going any farther until the Angel returns. Then we'll continue on, either in the tunnel, or the chute."

Holly nodded then sat down against the tunnel wall, facing the chute opening. Artemis sat down beside her. Sayoko remained standing, looking out into the chute.

Soon there after Artemis' eyes closed and he fell asleep.

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Artemis awoke sometime later. He had no idea how long he'd been asleep, his watch having been broken by the cave in. He glanced around to find Sayoko leaning against the tunnel wall near to the opening. The Goddess seemed to be asleep, and more relaxed then he'd seen her in recent memory.

He started to rise, but a weight stopped him. He glanced down to see Holly leaning against him, a small smile on her face.

Being a genius, Artemis knew many things. He did not know what exactly was going on between himself and Holly though. He and Holly both seemed comfortable in the other's presence, but was it just friends or a mutual affection for the other. Before he could give it much thought, Morning Bell appeared in the tunnel opening.

The Angel floated over to her Mistress and cocked her head slightly.

Sayoko's eyes suddenly snapped open and she looked up at the Angel curiously.

"What did she find?" Artemis asked.

Sayoko looked over at him still not very awake.

"She couldn't find a way up." The Goddess said, "But there's something down below."

"Magma?"

Sayoko smirked.

"Besides Magma. There's another tunnel opening down there. Only it looks like it was actually made by someone."

Artemis frowned.

"That would mean that there are Fairies nearby, possibly the ones we're looking for."

Sayoko nodded.

"That's what I think." She said, "It might explain why I can't reach my mother telepathically."

"Could she simply be in Heaven?"

"Possible." Sayoko conceded, "But she'd rather spend much of her time on Earth."

Artemis nodded. His face then became one of concentration.

"Close to your mother?"

"Very, since her return." The Goddess replied, "There's a connection between her, myself, and my Aunt Skuld. That's how I knew Aunt Skuld was in trouble."

"You have another Aunt though."

"Aunt Urd." Sayoko replied, "She and I aren't as close as I am with Aunt Skuld. Also because of her mother, I don't have the same kind of connection with her as I do my mother and Auntie."

Artemis raised an eyebrow.

"Different mothers?"

"My Mother and Auntie share the same birth mother. The only thing common between the three is Grandpa Kami-sama. He is the father of all three."

Artemis nodded in understanding.

"So what does he think of this current situation?"

"That's complicated." Sayoko replied with a sigh. "He's not as hands on as he was in the beginning. But he did allow my Mother to get involved, though unofficially."

"Why is that?"

"The Council of Heaven," The Goddess began, "is full of Gods and Goddesses who haven't been actively worshipped in several hundred years. I think it's a sore point with many of them, especially Saturn. Then considering the bad history between Heaven and the fairies….. Much of the Council would rather start the Earth over from scratch."

Artemis raised an eyebrow.

"That's really feeling me with a lot of confidence, thank you for sharing Heaven's low opinion of mortals with me."

Sayoko frowned.

"I'm part mortal too. And I said most of the Council. The rest want to help earth."

"So what about that lower tunnel?" Artemis asked.

"I think we'll avoid it and continue on with this one." Sayoko replied, "I'd rather not risk the magma."

Artemis nodded.

"I agree."

"Now if you'll wake up lover girl there……"

Artemis' face turned red.

"Look here, I don't….….."

Sayoko smirked as she rose to her feet.

"Argue all you want. But I think I know what I'm talking about." She then turned and started further into the tunnel.

Artemis sighed, then turned to look at Holly. She did look rather beautiful….

He shook his head.

Current situation first.

"Holly." He said, "Wake up."

"Arrrrtemiss…." She moaned pushing herself further into him.

Artemis blinked and stared a moment. Could she……

Current situation first.

"Wake up Holly."

Holly sleepily opened her eyes and looked up at him. Her eyes became as large as saucers and she quickly sat straight up.

"I uhh…that is…uh…." She stuttered.

Artemis stood up and held out his hand.

"We're continuing on."

Holly looked at his hand, then took it. He helped pull her to her feet. Both stared at each other, their hands still together.

"Hey!"

They both looked down the tunnel to see Sayoko waiting, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Can we go?" she asked, "Or would you like me to wait while you make out?"

"What!??!" Artemis and Holly both shouted together. "We…I….he/she…."

Sayoko chuckled and stared walking again. Artemis and Holly followed.

"I want to hurt her." Holly grumbled.

"She's a Goddess." Artemis pointed out, "I don't think that would go over well in Heaven."

Holly frowned. "You sure she's a Goddess?"

"As sure as you are."

"Cuase she doesn't act like a Goddess."

Sayoko paused and looked back at them.

"New Age Goddess." She stated, "Deal with it."

"Excellent hearing though." Artemis said.

"Very." Holly grumbled.

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They'd only walked one hundred yards when Sayoko stopped walking and swore. Artemis and Holly both blinked, still not used to the idea of a Goddess swearing, even if she was new age. Then they saw what she was looking at.

"D'arvit!" Holly swore.

Further up the tunnel a group of fairies armed with softnose lasers was walking towards them. The blank stares on the fairies confirmed they were possessed by the Demon. The fairies immediately began to fire on them.

"Damn" Sayoko turned and ran from the fairies, Artemis and Holly just in front of her.

They had just passed the opening to the chute when Artemis came to a halt. Holly crashed into him from behind.

"Why are you stopping?!?!" she shouted.

Artemis only pointed.

In front of them stood another group of fairies, their weapons out and ready to fire.

Artemis turned to see Sayoko staring back at the original group of possessed fairies.

They were trapped.

"What do we do?" Holly asked.

Sayoko glanced at the two groups of fairies, then looked at the chute opening.

"Somehow I think surrender is a bad idea." Artemis murmured.

"You think?" Holly asked sarcastically.

"I have a thought." Sayoko spoke up, "But you aren't going to like it."

"I like death even less." Artemis said, looking at the lasers pointed at them.

"What are they waiting for?" Holly asked.

"I don't plan on finding out." Sayoko replied. She reached out and grabbed Artemis' and Holly's belts. "Forgive me later for this……" She then yanked as hard as she could on them, at the same time she pushed as hard as she could with her legs, sending her, Artemis, and Holly out into the chute.

Holly screamed as she fell. The chute sides rushed quickly past her eyes as the red glow far below began to get bigger.

A dozen thoughts ran through Artemis' mind, most dealing with how fast he was falling, the average temperature of the magma, would his body burst into flame before he hit the magma, and wither he'd even be alive at impact.

Sayoko dropped just a bit behind them, her hair streaming back from her head. She'd let go of the other two after they had started falling. She ignored the walls racing past her as well as the screams coming from just in front of her. She was mentally ticking off the seconds as they dropped.

Suddenly she reached out and grabbed their belts again. Bright white wings then burst from her back.

Artemis and Holly both felt a jerk around their waists, followed by a grunt of pain, and suddenly they weren't falling as fast. Artemis hazard a look over his shoulder to see Sayoko, with wings sprouting from her back and a grimace on her face, holding on to him. She was looking along one side of the chute wall, gently gliding them back and forth with her wings. Looking down, he saw what she was aiming for.

The other tunnel entrance.

They swept through the entrance and Sayoko released her hold on Holly and Artemis. The two tumbled along the floor of the tunnel while Sayoko landed on her feet. She then immediately fell to her knees, her hands grasping at her left side as her wings vanished.

Holly lifted her head.

"You alright Artemis?" she asked.

"I'll live." He replied.

Holly then glanced over at Sayoko. She could immediately tell that the Goddess was not at all fine.

"Sayoko?"

"I'm…. fine…."

Sayoko started to rise, but fell back down. Artemis and Holly were quickly by her side. Holly gently moved the Goddess' hand, lifted her shirt, and bandages to reveal the Demonic scar on her left side. The scar had split open wide and was oozing blood. Holly quickly pressed the bandages against the wound, trying to stop the blood.

"How did it break open?" Holly wondered out loud.

"I believe it occurred when she broke out fall." Artemis replied, "She deployed her wings, slowing us down. It was quite a jerk."

Holly's eyes narrowed as she turned to Sayoko's face.

"You pushed us off into a chute with no warning." She grumbled, "I ought to hit you for that."

Sayoko smirked slightly, before it became a grimace. Artemis glanced at Holly.

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to try and heal her again?"

"And get tossed?" Holly asked, "Are you nuts?!"

"Holly," Artemis said softly, "She's bleeding out. Any healing she gets will be enough."

Holly frowned. Artemis was right.

She looked down and placed her hands on Sayoko's wound. As she did so, Artemis moved around behind her.

"Heal!" she called out.

Sparks spat along the Goddess' wound. It seemed to close slightly before once again there was a brilliant white flash. Holly was flung backwards from the Goddess. She impacted on something soft.

"OOF!" Artemis grunted as the air was forcefully expelled from his lungs. He and Holly tumbled to the ground.

"Ow." Holly groaned.

"I agree." Artemis replied. "I'm glad it flung you high. Getting hit any lower would have stung."

Holly looked at Artemis with a frown. She then slowly lowered her eyes until she realized exactly what she would have hit. Her face turned a deep red as she quickly turned back to Sayoko. The Goddess' eyes were closed, but she seemed to be breathing easier.

"Looks like she's out of it." Holly pointed out.

"Great." Artemis grumbled, "She was providing the light too."

"So now I lead." Holly stated.

"What about her?"

"You're a big boy Artemis." The Elf smirked, "I'm sure you can carry her."

Artemis glared at Holly.

"We stop when I get tired though."

"Of course."

Artemis knelt beside the Goddess, slid his arms underneath her knees and behind her back and lifted her. He was momentarily surprised by how light Sayoko was. He turned and looked at Holly.

"Well?" he asked.

Holly only smirked as she grabbed his shirt sleeve and led him off into the darkness of the tunnel.

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"Sir?"

Underhill rotated his chair around, bringing his gaze upon Trance. The pixie shifted nervously on her feet.

"What?"

"You wished to know if the Squads ran into anything."

"Yes?" Underhill replied, leaning forward on his chair. "Did they find something?"

"Squads 12 and 24 ran into three people in Tunnel 14 next to Chute Beta." Trance stated, "They escaped by jumping into the chute."

Underhill frowned.

"They jumped into the chute?"

"Yes sir."

"Very suicidal for Fairies." Underhill murmured.

"Only one was a fairy." Trance said, gulping, "An Elf, the other two were Mudmen."

"WHAT!?!?!" Underhill lifted his bulk to his feet, allowing him to glare down at the pixie. "MUDMEN?!?! HERE!?!?!?"

"Yes …..sir…." Trance replied, "A man and a woman. The woman had strange markings on her face……"

Underhill frowned.

"Keep me up to date." He started off across the room. "Tell the patrols to keep an eye out for them."

"But they can't have lived!" Trance stated.

"These just might have!" Underhill snapped. He then vanished from the control room.

Trance watched as the door closed behind Underhill. Upon its closing click, all trace of nervousness had vanished from the pixie. She then turned and walked over to a computer console, pushing the possessed elf sitting there to the floor. She quickly typed a few commands, bringing up a picture of the Elf and the two Mudmen. She ignored the elf and the man, and focused solely on the woman.

"Hello…." She murmured softly.

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Underhill walked down the hall until he reached his private office. He then entered and closed the door behind him.

"Well?" he called out.

"Well what?" came a voice that filled the room, yet of the speaker there was no sign.

"You promised me the entire world at my feet." Underhill replied, "So where is it?"

"Patience."

Underhill clenched his hands. "I have been waiting for almost a year!"

"And yet when you consider your life span, it is but a blink of an eye." The unseen figure stated, "What is a few hours more?"

Underhill growled. "I've fulfilled my end of the deal. You'd better hold up yours."

"Time shall tell won't it?"

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"How far do you think we've walked?"

"Around three miles. Why? Are you tired?"

"You're the one carrying the extra weight Artemis."

"She's surprisingly light." Artemis replied, "Even lighter then you."

Holly topped dead in her tracks.

"Are you saying I'm fat?" The Elf asked slowly.

Alarms immediately went off in Artemis' head.

As a genius, he knew many things. While 'dating' and such things as that eluded him, he did understand a few things about the opposite sex.

And he knew Holly.

"Based upon what I have seen of the average fairy," Artemis replied, "No, you are not fat."

"Then why…?"

"I'm assuming it's because she's a goddess."

Holly nodded slowly in understanding.

"So I'm not fat?"

'Does Holly have a Tomboy switch?' Artemis mused to himself. "On the contrary, you are actually quite…." His voice trailed off as he realized what he was about to say.

"Quite what?" Holly asked as she leaned towards him.

"….perhaps we should continue to walk." Artemis replied nervously.

"Arrrrrteeeemisss…." Holly said, dragging out his name.

Before Artemis could reply, bright light filled the tunnel. The two blinked and looked around.

They were now surrounded by softnose wielding possessed fairies.

"D'arvit." Holly cursed.

"I agree." Artemis muttered.

A pixie then stepped forward. Unlike the other fairies, this one wasn't possessed. In fact, there was an odd glean in her eyes.

"Consider yourself prisoners of Mister Underhill." She stated.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

UN Base

Tokyo-2

Japan

The NORN facility.

Juliet, Trouble, and Misato walked into the NORN computer room where the three 'geniuses' were still bent over a console.

"Well?" Misato called out.

"What?" Ritsuko asked, looking back.

"Have you found them?"

"Not exactly." Foaly stated,

"WHAT!?!?!"

"Look," Foaly said, "That particular area they disappeared in is saturated in tunnels and caves." He looked back to the main screen. "Some of them haven't been seen or entered in several hundred years, if not more."

"Nice place to put a hold out spot." Juliet muttered, "What's keeping a force from getting at you from one of those tunnels?"

Foaly smirked. "As you saw, the tunnels are very unstable. Prone to collapse. Sector 67 was hollowed out in nice fresh unburrowed rock. Nothing else around it but the one entrance tunnel."

"But we did find out something."

"And that is?" Trouble asked.

Foaly entered a command on the console and the screen before them lit up with a complex chemical formula.

"This is what flooded Haven." The Centaur stated.

Misato, Juliet, and Trouble all stared at the screen, then looked to the others with confused looks.

Skuld rolled her eyes.

"Basically what this gas does that it lowers the fairy resistance to suggestion." The Goddess stated, "Specifically to the Demonic thrall."

"The what?" Juliet asked. Trouble and Misato looked at Skuld expectantly.

"It's the Demon version of the fairy mesmer." Skuld said, getting 'Oh!'s from Trouble and Juliet. Misato simply blinked. "It's how a Demon can get people to do very nasty things. It's basically a powerful suggestion. That little voice that tells you to do bad things."

"So this gas allowed the population of Haven to become susceptible to the Demon's suggestion." Trouble said, "Then Underhill and the Demon basically get a large army of Fairies at their command." Trouble looked at Skuld. "Is there a cure?"

"Sort of."

"Well what is it?"

"The effects of the gas is temporary. In fact, it might already be gone."

Juliet frowned. "If that's true, then why aren't the fairies back to normal?"

"Because the Demon is still exerting control over them." Foaly said. "We need to break the demons control."

"And how do we do that?" Trouble asked.

"We need another Demon." Ritsuko replied.

Misato, Juliet, and Trouble paled.

"Another one?" Misato whispered.

"Aren't we in enough trouble without bringing in another Demon?" Trouble asked. "From what you've all said, I don't really trust another Demon."

"There's more." Skuld typed a command into the computer. Another image appeared on the display. This one displayed a rather large highlighted area under central Europe. Haven was only just barely in the image. "Roughly, you're looking at the possible area of Underhill's location."

"You realize that is a very large area to search." Trouble said.

"We know." Foaly replied, "Most of the tunnels around Sector 67 are in that area."

Skuld indicated the highlighted area.

"This area is covered by a very powerful demonic barrier." She stated, "Should any God or Demon come through it, the Demon that raised it will be alerted."

Misato blinked. "So he knows Sayoko's down there."

"No." Skuld replied with a shake of her head.

"Why not?" Juliet asked. "You said….."

"Sayoko is different." The Goddess explained. "Yes, she is a Goddess, but she's also part mortal. Basically, the barrier detects a God or Demon because of our magic. If she isn't using her powers, Sayoko is undetectable."

Misato sighed. "So what you're saying is that there is no point in getting a demon because they'll just be detected. So what else can we do?"

Ritsuko shook her head. "No, this is the plan."

"But she just said…" Juliet began.

"I know what I said." Skuld cut the bodyguard off. She then turned to Misato. "The plan will work. We just need to get a hold of the Demon."

Misato stared at Skuld in confusion.

"What Demon could get…." Misato's voice trailed off as her eyes widened. "You said Sayoko isn't detectable because she's half mortal."

Skuld nodded.

"Correct."

"So the Demon we need would have to also be half mortal."

"Yes."

Misato nodded. "Alright then. I'll go call her."

Juliet and Trouble looked at each other before turning to Foaly.

"You know what she's talking about?" Trouble asked.

"Not really." Foaly said, looking back at his fellow Geniuses. "They kept referring to her as 'you-know-who' and that 'Asuka' would be rather annoyed."

"And she will be." Skuld said. "Unfortunately she'll just have to deal with it."

"But why is Misato making a phone call?" Juliet asked.

"How else are we going to get the Demon here?"

"They have phones in Hell?"

"The Demon isn't in Hell." Skuld replied.

Juliet blinked.

"It's not?"

"Nope."

"Then where is it?"

"California."

"What's a Demon doing in California?"

"Getting her college degree."

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"You know for a cell this isn't all that bad."

Artemis slowly turned and stared at the elf sitting beside him. He, Holly, and Sayoko had been placed together in a cell that was obviously designed for the fairies. Artemis could not stand up straight without hitting the ceiling, and Sayoko's unconscious form was a bit to tall for the cot. The goddess's legs dangled off the end of the cot.

Since the cot was the only thing to sit on, and the goddess had that, that left the floor. Artemis had been plotting a way out when Holly had spoken. She remained oblivious to the reaction he was currently giving her.

"It may take a bit of time," she said, "But with careful planning we'll get out."

"Oh?" Artemis asked. "You have a plan?"

Holly looked at Artemis. He was smirking.

"You know a way out don't you." It wasn't a question.

Artemis nodded to the cot. "She's right there."

"She's unconscious." Holly pointed out.

"A minor technicality." Artemis replied. "But she is key to my plan of escape."

"Once she's awake."

"Well…yes."

"And when will that be?"

"………"

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UN Base

Tokyo-2

Japan

Misato sat behind her desk, resting her head in her hands in a manner that was reminiscent of a certain Commander of NERV.

"Status?" Came her voice from behind interlaced finger.

Maya Ibuki looked up. "Subject has gone home for the day. Objective 'Baka-one'….." Maya shook her head at the name. "….has left class and will arrive at the approximate same time as the subject."

Misato let out a long sigh. "That's a relief."

Juliet, Trouble, and Foaly all looked at each other, then at Ritsuko.

"Asuka has the tendency to be rather violent when it comes to Shinji and…"

"Rather violent?" Misato stared at Ritsuko. "Are you forgetting the TV incident?"

Ritsuko blinked. "You said Pen Pen broke it."

"..after he was punted by Asuka into it." Misato added. She then shook her head sadly. "Poor thing, he was just looking for a beer and wandered into that."

"Pen Pen?" Trouble repeated. Again, the three looked to Ritsuko.

"Hot springs penguin." The Doctor replied.

"A beer drinking penguin?" Juliet mumbled.

"You haven't been around swear toads yet." Foaly pointed out.

Misato's phone then buzzed. She picked up the receiver and listened.

"Send her in." she told the person on the other end. She then set the phone back down and looked at the others. "She's here."

Maya glanced over at the elf and centaur, then looked back at Misato.

"Shouldn't they hide or…."

Misato shook her head. "Somehow I doubt they could hide from her. Better that they're in plain……."

Misato's voice trailed off at the soft knock on the door.

"Enter."

The office door opened revealing a twenty something auburn haired girl with green eyes. Misato gave the girl a warm smile.

"Hello Mana."

Mana Kirishima returned the smile.

"Hello Misato. What's…." She paused and stared at moment at Foaly and Trouble. She blinked a moment, then rubbed her eyes and blinked again. She then turned back to the commander.

"Ripping off characters from Tokyo Disney are we Misato?"

"WHAT?!?!" Trouble and Foaly both shouted.

"Tokyo Disney is underwater and you know it." Misato grumbled. "That is Commander Trouble Kelp, and the centaur is named Foaly."

"Uh huh." Mana stared at the two fairies a moment, then looked again at Misato. "You've pulled me into one of your beer induced hazes that Shinji and Yoko keep telling me about."

Misato let out an irritated huff while Maya and Ritsuko snickered.

"No Miss Kirishima," Ritsuko said, "They are real, not beer induced."

"Oh. So why are the munchkins here?"

Trouble and Foaly glared at the girl before them. Trouble looked at the other women present.

"Are you sure she can help us?" he asked, "So far all she's done is insult us."

"I assure you," Misato said, "She is extremely powerful. She's a second class…."

"First."

Misato looked back at Mana. The girl smirked.

"I got promoted to First unlimited." The girl stated.

"Right. First Class Demoness."

"But other then being rather obnoxious," Trouble said, "There's really nothing impressive about her."

"She doesn't even have those markings the other one had." Juliet spoke up.

Mana blinked and looked at Misato.

"Other one?"

Misato shrugged.

"Maybe you should just show'em your game face."

Mana rolled her eyes. "Game face….right……."

She turned and looked at the fairies, her green eyes locked with theirs. Suddenly they flashed red. Trouble let out a gasp as the red demonic markings flared into existence on the girl's face. The entire room seemed to grow colder and darker, the only source of light being Mana's demon markings and her eyes.

Then just as quickly everything returned to normal. Juliet stared at the now unmarked, green-eyed girl before them.

"Satisfied?" Misato said, shivering slightly.

"Very." Trouble replied, his face very pale.

Foaly didn't reply.

He'd fainted.

"Wow." Juliet said in awe. "That was…..wow."

"Not everyone finds it so 'wow'." Mana murmured. She nodded off to the side.

Everyone turned to see that Maya had practically jumped into Ritsuko's lap.

Misato smirked and was about to say something when her office door burst open and Skuld ran into the room, her hammer at the ready.

"I just felt a…." Her voice trailed off as stared at Maya on Ritsuko's lap. "…um…..a demon?"

"Hi Auntie." Mana said softly with a wave.

Skuld turned and stared at Mana a moment.

"That was you?" she asked.

"Yeah." The Demoness replied, "I got promoted."

"Ah." Skuld looked back at Maya and Ritsuko, then turned and watched Juliet and Trouble try to wake Foaly back up. "You know what…. I'm just not going to ask." She grabbed Mana's arm and pulled her out of the office. "Come on, I got to explain what's happened and why you're here."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"………"

"………"

"………"

"………"

"……plans working well I see….."

"…."

"That all you have to say?"

Artemis glanced at Holly.

"I'm thinking." He murmured.

Holly raised an eyebrow, but remained silent.

Silence dominated the room for several minutes, then Artemis began to speak.

"Assume for a moment that Goddesses are like fairies for a moment." He said, "What is your power limit?"

Holly thought for a moment. "I did go for a long while between rituals. Maybe several months or so."

Artemis raised a finger, "But you can survive with out your magic. Mulch is proof of this."

"Yeah, so?"

"Sayoko has shown that the Gods are extremely powerful." Artemis lacing his fingers together before him. "But where do they get their power?"

Holly shrugged. "It's not something they would really broadcast now would it?"

"Point taken. Note it has been at least an hour and a half or more since she went unconscious."

"So?"

"Have you looked at her recently?"

Holly frowned and looked at the unconscious goddess. Not much had changed really, but she did seem to have a bit more color in her face and looked quite a bit healthier then she had. The elf moved over and gently pulled up Sayoko's shirt, revealing the bandage she had placed on the goddess' injury. She then pealed the bandage back just enough to reveal the scar.

It still looked quite nasty and painful, but it did not seem to be bleeding at this point.

"Within a few hours she has recovered quite a bit." Artemis said, "Thus I believe she is recharging her powers."

"Then why isn't she awake?" Holly asked.

"Perhaps she requires a 'jump start'."

Holly's eyes went wide.

"You aren't suggesting…….?"

"Indeed I am." Artemis said firmly.

Holly glanced at Sayoko hesitatingly. The last time she'd tried to heal Sayoko she'd been blasted across the cave. Now they were in a much smaller cell.

Hands suddenly rested on her shoulders.

"I'll catch you." Artemis said in a voice that sent chills down Holly's spine.

Holly looked over her shoulder at Artemis. He was staring at her with a look she'd only caught glimpses of before now.

One of absolute caring.

She nodded at him and turned resolutely towards the goddess, then raised her hand without hesitation.

"Heal!"

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Underhill frowned and looked around.

"What was that?"

"What was what?" came the voice.

Underhill frowned a moment, then shook his head. "Never mind."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pain.

Intense pain.

And an urge to curl up into a ball.

That is what Artemis was feeling about now.

He'd caught Holly when she'd been flung away from the Goddess.

Unfortunately he did not catch her in his chest.

She hit just a tad lower.

"Artemis?" Holly asked as knelt beside him. "Are you alright?"

"No…" Artemis' voice squeaked slightly. "Check her……"

Holly hesitated only a moment before turning to the Goddess. Sayoko was still unconscious, but now her eyelids seemed to be flickering ever so slightly. In addition, her right hand had begun to twitch.

"I think she's waking up." Holly told Artemis.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Possessed fairies moved silently about the smoldering remains of Haven. Each moved about their assigned work with robot like efficiency and movement.

None noticed the auburn haired girl that suddenly appeared within their midst.

Mana paused a moment and stared at the possessed fairies.

"Whoa…" she murmured, "So Borg like." She then smacked the side of her head. "What am I thinking?" She turned and quickly headed towards the sector 67 tunnel.

Entering the tunnel, she found it blocked off by the collapse that had separated Sayoko and the other two from the rest.

Now to follow Sayoko and the others down.

It was as she was thinking how to accomplish this that the sound of chewing reached her ears. Frowning, she looked behind her and saw nothing. Yet the chewing noise remained.

Then the Demoness realized, the noise was coming from below her.

Mana quickly stepped off to the side, just as the ground she had been standing collapsed downward. From the newly created hole, a small odd-looking figure popped out, wearing a pair of overalls with a large flap in the butt area.

"What the….."

The figure turned around.

"Ahh!" it shouted. "Mud-woman!!"

Mana clamped her hand on the figures mouth.

"You want the fairies to hear you?" she hissed.

"Mumph muph muph!" the figure replied.

Mana looked at it confused. "What?"

The figure pointed. Mana followed the finger to see a small group of armed possessed fairies walking towards them. She quickly turned and faced the fairies, her demonic markings flaring into existence on her face.

"_You see nothing._" She commanded. "_Go about your tasks._"

The fairies hesitated for a moment, then turned and left the two alone in the tunnel.

"How'd you do that?" the figure asked, finally getting Mana's hand from his face..

"First thing first." Mana replied, "Who and what are you?"

"Mulch Diggums!" the figure replied, "Dwarf and expert thief!"

"Well Mr. Diggums, I'm Mana Kirishima, Demon First Class."

"Demon?" Mulch stared at the mud woman before him curiously. "But you don't have any scales."

Mana's eye twitched slightly.

"Scales?" She shook her head. "We'll get back to that in a moment. I take it you dig?" She pointed at the hole.

"No I just burrow around for the hell of it." Mulch snapped back. "I'm a Dwarf!"

"I don't care if you're an ugly midget! I need a tunnel dug straight down here!"

"Straight down?" Mulch repeated. "I can do it, but it isn't going to be easy."

"Nothing is anymore." Mana grumbled, "Why?"

"Well there's a lot of solid rock around here." Mulch replied, "Can't get through that. We have to follow the clay and other soft stuff."

"Fine. So long as we go down."

"Now about my fee……."

Mana raised an eyebrow. "Fee?"

"You know, payment." Mulch crossed his arms and stared at Mana. "I'm not about to do this for free."

"Payment……."

"So….you know, gold sounds really….." Mulch's stopped speaking as he noticed Mana's eyes glowing red.

"Payment." Mana repeated, "Your payment will be that you can keep the ability to spawn children." She gave him a very evil grin. "How does that sound for payment?"

Mulch stared at her wide-eyed, his hand slowly moving downwards. "You wouldn't."

"Oh believe me…." Mana's voice was very low and dangerous. "I would."

Mulch gulped and patted himself, just to make sure everything was still there.

"Oh well Can't chat! Got a tunnel to dig!" He quickly turned, dropped his butt flap, and jumped into the hole, digging as quickly as possible straight down.

Mana watched the dirt fly out of the hole, along with clouds of odd colored gas.

"Sayoko," she murmured, "The things I do for you….." She then jumped into the hole after the Dwarf.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sayoko blinked and looked around.

She was standing knee deep in what looked like a vast underground ocean that seemed to go on endlessly. Looking up, she thought she could just make out the ceiling, but it was too high above and shrouded in darkness.

All she could hear was the gentle lapping of the waves against her legs.

And the sound of crying.

Sayoko frowned and looked around her again. A young girl was sitting in the water, facing away from her. It was her cries that Sayoko had heard.

"Um…" The Goddess began, "Are you alright?"

The girl stiffened and went silent. She then slowly turned and faced the Goddess. Sayoko's eyes went wide and she involuntarily gasped as she found herself looking at a much younger version of herself.

"You…." Sayoko murmured, "You are me?"

The girl nodded.

"But…." Sayoko frowned, "Why were you crying?" She then looked around. "And where are we?"

"I am the memory of a time past." The girl said, "That which was locked away from you."

"Memory…" Sayoko thought for a moment. Then she blinked. "The kidnapping. You are the memory of the kidnapping." She then looked around. "So….this is my mind?"

"Yes." The girl replied, looking around.

Sayoko turned back to the girl.

"So what happens now?"

The girl smiled faintly. "All that was forgotten will resurface."

"That's it?" Sayoko replied, "No cryptic words or anything deep and meaningful? Just 'Here's your memories. Take em and go'?"

The girl frowned. "Don't be a wise ass." She stated before vanishing.

Sayoko stared at the place her 'memory' had just been.

"Well now that was just weird." She mumbled.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Goddess' eyes snapped open.

Holly stumbled backwards, falling into Artemis.

It wasn't that she was startled by Sayoko's eyes opening. She knew that would probably happen. What startled her was that the Goddess' eyes were glowing a bright white.

And that raw power was now flooding her fairy senses.

"Let's get out of here." Sayoko stated.


	13. Chapter 12

Yes…I'm still alive.

Work has been rather busy the last few months.

(trying to add 20,000+ converter boxes into a system, 5 serial numbers each, that's over 100,000+ bar codes to scan. Try doing that for five days straight.)

Chapter 12

"Let's get out of here." Sayoko stated.

"No argument here." Holly replied as she and Artemis backed up against the wall.

Sayoko rose from where she lay and walked up to the cell door. She raised her hand towards the door. The palm of her hand glowed for a few moments. As the light faded from her palm, Sayoko frowned.

"Well damn…." She muttered.

"What?" Artemis asked.

"Something's dampening my powers." The Goddess replied.

Holly's eyes went wide, while Artemis' eyebrow rose.

"You mean you can't open the door?" Holly asked.

"I can't open the door."

Artemis frowned. "What could dampen your powers?"

Sayoko shrugged. "It could be almost anything."

"Such as?"

"I could still be low on power." Sayoko began, counting off on her fingers. "My license could be suspended. I could….."

"Excluding the possibility of you being suspended," Artemis began, "And supposing you have enough power on hand. Is there anything at all that might nullify your powers? The Demon perhaps?"

Sayoko frowned a moment, then her eyes went wide. She then muttered something that sounded like old Norse. He glanced at Holly who shook her head.

"You really don't want to know." The Elf said.

"Mom's powers were once sealed by a Demon." The Goddess murmured, "That would mean that the Demon is aware of what I am."

"Meaning that to escape we'll have to rely on our brains." Artemis stated.

"Well…I guess…" Sayoko replied, slightly confused.

Artemis smirked.

"Excellent."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mana frowned as she looked out into the magma chute. Far below she could just make out the glow of the molten rock.

"I doubt they went this way." She said, turning to the Dwarf.

Mulch shrugged. "They couldn't go up that way. We both saw the cave in and there was blood on this side of it."

Mana looked past the Dwarf towards the rest of the cave.

"Then they went deeper that way. It's safer then trying to go down th….." Mana had glanced back at the magma chute when something caught her eye.

Something small and white.

The Demoness walked over and bent carefully at the opening to the chute, reached out, and plucked the object from the chute wall. She then sat back and stared at it a moment.

In her hand she held a pure white feather.

Given their current location, there was only one place the feather could have come from.

Only one person.

One Angel.

"Morning Bell." Mana whispered softly. She then looked off towards the chute.

"Sayoko."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hmm?"

Holly and Artemis looked over at the Goddess. Since her failure to free them, Sayoko had sat down before the cell door, staring silently at it. Now suddenly she'd perked up.

"We didn't say anything." Artemis said.

"I heard something." Sayoko murmured. She went silent a moment, then turned and glanced at the other two.

"You know Holly," she said softly, "You haven't changed at all." She then smirked. "Though I do remember you being a bit taller."

"Huh?" Holly turned and blinked at the Goddess a moment, while Artemis let out a snort.

"She does have a point." Artemis stated.

"And you 'Arty'……" Sayoko continued, "You aren't the teenager I remember."

"I grew up." Artemis replied.

"…..and became rather hideous looking."

Now it was Holly's turn to snicker while Artemis glared at the Goddess.

"I assume your memories of those events have returned." Artemis stated.

"Yeah." Sayoko answered, looking at the floor. "I should thank you again for what you did."

"No thanks is necessary." Artemis replied, "Besides, I seem to remember you being the one that saved us in the end."

"Considering I got squished by the door and couldn't help much…." Holly grumbled.

"Aww Holly." Sayoko reached over and pulled the elf into a hug. "You cared enough to try and shoot lover boy over there to save me from his 'evil' clutches."

"I/SHE WHAT!?!?!" Both Holly and Artemis went completely red.

Sayoko put on a very fake questioning look.

"You mean Juliet was wrong?" she asked, before giving them another grin.

"Artemis."

"Yes Holly?"

"You're plan to get us out of here?"

"Yes?"

"Think faster. She's scaring me……"

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"Still no word?"

Trance glanced over as Underhill entered the room.

"No sir." The pixie replied, "We have received no contact from the UN."

Underhill frowned.

"Their silence is puzzling." He murmured, "The have lost a city and many lives. They don't know where I shall strike next. Yet they cannot find….." His eyes widened. "The mudmen and the elf!" He turned and looked at Trance. "You said we captured two mudmen and an Elf."

"Well technically one of the mud people is female……."

"I don't care if they had horns!" Underhill snapped. "Why was an Elf with mudmen in the first place? Bring me the Elf! I have questions for her to answer!"

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Artemis, Sayoko, and Holly all looked up as the cell door opened. After a moment, the pixie that had captured them. She pointed her weapon at Holly.

"Comon Elf." The pixie said, "Mister Underhill wishes to speak with you."

"What about us?" Artemis asked.

"He only wants the elf." The pixie replied. She pointed her weapon at Artemis. "He really doesn't care about you mudman."

Holly rose to her feet.

"There's no need for that." She said, "I'll go."

"Holly…." Artemis started to rise, but was held down by Sayoko's hand on his shoulder.

Holly looked back and smiled at Artemis.

"It'll be just like that time with Cudgeon." She said, "Don't worry Artemis, I'll be fine."

The pixie nodded towards the door. Holly exited, followed closely behind by the pixie. The cell door then slammed closed. Sayoko waited several moments before finally turning to look at Artemis.

"Finally I have you all to myself."

"Funny." There was no humor in Artemis' voice.

"Don't worry." Sayoko said, rising to her feet. "I won't take another girl's property." She smirked at Artemis' attempt to respond. "What was that last thing about a Cudgeon?"

"Former LEP Commander that I had issues with." Artemis replied, "He ended up working with some goblins and eventually wound up dead."

Sayoko blinked. "So we're going to die? That's not really a confidence booster."

"No." Artemis said shaking his head. "I crawled through a tube of plasma into a control room and ended up saving Holly's life."

"Arty." Sayoko said, causing him to flinch at the hated nickname. "We are in a cell. No tubes of plasma here to crawl through."

"I am well aware of that."

"So…?"

"Still working on a plan."

"Work FASTER!"

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Holly entered the control room, followed closely behind by the pixie. The elf took a moment to look around. Dozens of possessed fairies worked silently at various consoles, facing towards a large screen. In the center of all this, sitting on what almost looked like a throne, was Underhill. His eyes widened slightly as he spotted Holly.

"Holly Short of LEPrecon." He stated, "I never expected I would meet you. But then that explains the mudman." Underhill rose to his feet and walked towards Holly. "The Artemis Fowl affair, was it not? I must say, the acting in the movie of that event was quite atrocious."

"I never actually watched it." Holly replied.

"Waste of time." Underhill replied with a wave of his hand. "The mudman then must be Fowl. The female, I assume that is his bodyguard……..a Butler if I'm not mistaken."

Holly said nothing but inside she was shocked at just how much he knew.

Underhill smirked, "The Centaur's files are quite useful. He keeps track of everything in them. But then all geniuses have their quirks. Now then…." Underhill paused before Holly. "You are one of the few fairies that keeps in constant contact with the mudmen. Suppose you tell me what the UN is up too?"

"I really don't know." Holly answered.

Underhill frowned slightly. "That just isn't quite the truth now is it?"

Holly blinked in surprise. How did he…?

"A rather useful gift I recently received." Underhill stated. "But enough of that, the UN, what are their plans?"

"I don't know what they are planning." Holly replied, "But if their standard operations is like the LEPs, you can forget negotiation."

Underhill shrugged his shoulders and turned away from the Elf. He then pointed at the screen. A map of the world appeared.

"You see. There are over several billion mudmen or more up there." He turned back to Holly. "When that number has been halved, I think they will negotiate."

Holly just stared at him.

"Do you have any idea what will happen if you continue to set off nuclear weapons?" she asked.

Underhill shrugged.

"A dramatic drop in mudmen populations. Increase in cancer rates. Drastic climate change. What do I care for the surface."

"We need the surface!" Holly shouted, "How else will we recharge our magic?"

Underhill shrugged again. "What do I care for the others magic?" He raised his hand. Small flicks of lightning crackled in his palm as his eyes glowed red. "I shall be the one with the power."

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"Did you know…." Sayoko said as she lay on her back, "That there are over 68 cracks in the ceiling and walls?"

"67."

Sayoko frowned and turned her head towards Artemis.

"68."

Artemis shook his head.

"67." He pointed, "That one is a hair."

Sayoko frowned and looked closer to where he pointed.

"OK, so it's a hair." She sudden sat upright. "Hey why are you counting cracks? I thought you were supposed to be using that brain of yours to get us out?"

"I have been." Artemis replied, "I have also solved several complex equations, written a complete symphonic masterpiece, as well as determined the exact meaning of '42'."

Sayoko narrowed her eyes.

"You have absolutely no idea how we're getting out of here do you?"

Artemis sighed. "No. I don't. We're stuck here for now." He gave her a glance. "Are you sure your powers are dampened?"

Sayoko rolled her eyes.

"I already tried to use my powers. It's not like I can just wave my hand and…" She waved her hand. "…and force the door to……"

The door rattled slightly.

"……open?" Sayoko looked at the door a moment, then looked at her hand. "What the..…..?"

Suddenly something shot into the cell through the door. The two stared at the object wide-eyed for a moment.

"That is a sword." Sayoko murmured.

"Looks like it." Artemis replied, "Whose though?"

The sword jerked upward a moment, then vanished. The cell door then slowly swung open.

Then a dwarf stepped into the cell.

"Frond! That's a hell of a lock pick. Hey Mudboy!" Mulch shouted, "You and the girl want more time alone?"

"Mulch!" Artemis rose to his feet. "I never thought I'd actually be happy to see you."

"I get that a lot mudboy." The Dwarf replied, "Now where's Holly?"

"They took her to the control room." Sayoko replied as they started out of the cell.

"Did you bring Juliet or are you here alone?" Artemis asked.

Mulch scratched his head as they moved past the cell door.

"Well it isn't the mudgirl…….."

Sayoko stopped dead in her tracks. Standing before and looking very dirty was……

"Mana?"

Mana slowly raised her hand and pointed at Mulch.

"Sayoko." She said, her voice shaking, "You owe me big time for getting me stuck with HIM!!!"

"She complained the entire time we tunneled down here." Mulch said to Artemis. "It's too dirty….it smells…..it's sticky..…. " The Dwarf sighed. "At least you went without complaint."

Artemis shivered as he remembered crawling around in a tunnel just behind the exposed bottom of the dwarf.

"It was horrid!!" Mana cried out, "I'm scarred mentally! The stench will never get off!"

"Mana." Sayoko said, "You haven't been right for awhile."

Mana blinked then glared at her friend.

"We can put you back in the cell." The Demoness stated.

"Mana! I've missed you!" Sayoko hugged her friend. She then froze as her eyes popped open. "I see what you mean about the smell."

"Hey!" Mulch protested.

"I hate to interrupt this reunion." Artemis said calmly, "But Holly?"

"Right the Elf." Mana said. She turned towards another figure, one that the newly released prisoners had completely missed.

A possessed fairy.

"Mana?" Sayoko asked, confused.

"_Take us to the control room._" Mana stated.

The possessed fairy nodded his head and led the way down the hall.

"How did she do that?" Artemis asked Sayoko as they followed the fairy.

"It's a Demon thing." Mana replied.

"Demon?" Artemis repeated. "She's a Demon?"

"Half demon." Sayoko replied.

"And no…" Mana added, "No one in my family has scales."

"Scales?" Sayoko repeated with a questioning gaze.

"Honestly Sayoko, you don't want to know."

They reached an intersection marked by signs. The possessed fairy walked into the corridor marked by the control room sign. The other corridor listed the shuttle bay as being in that direction.

"You know." Mana said wistfully. "I really don't want to tunnel out of here."

"I agree." Artemis added. "Having experienced…….Mulch's…..ahh…excretions….I have no desire to do so again." He then looked at Sayoko. "Perhaps you and Mulch should go check into a shuttle."

Sayoko blinked. "Me?"

"Your powers are still being dampened are they not?"

"Yes……."

"WHAT?!?!" Mana shouted.

"…And as a pilot," Artemis continued, "You would have a better chance at getting a shuttle ready then any of us."

"And why are you coming along?" Mana asked, "I can handle those fairies on my own."

"Can you disable the computers controlling the bombs?"

"Ahh……Ok. You can come."

Artemis and Mana hurried off towards the Control room, while Sayoko and Mulch began to walk towards the shuttle bay.

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Some minutes later Sayoko and Mulch found themselves inside the shuttle bay. Two shuttles currently occupied the space. A massive door sat closed at the far end of the room. Mulch ran over to a small console beside it.

"We're in luck." He called out. "There's no magma flares expected from this chute for another day or two."

"Umm…." Sayoko raised her hand, halting Mulch. "Magma flares?"

"Well…yeah." Mulch replied. "Magma goes boom, up the chute, pushing a personal pod along for the ride."

"Magma pushes the personal….…. ARE YOU FREAKING NUTS?!?!?!" Sayoko shouted. "Who in their right mind would….." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Never mind. A shuttle will get us out of here right?"

"Yeah."

"And where will we exit from here?"

"China."

Sayoko sighed. "At least that's close to home." She then cracked her fingers. "Alright Dwarf! Let's see if I can fly one of these things."

Mulch blinked. "What do you mean CAN you fly? Didn't Demon girl say you were a pilot?"

"I piloted the Evas." Sayoko replied, "You know, those 400 foot tall humanoid things. I've never flown a shuttle."

Mulch simply stared at her.

"You've never flown?" he repeated.

"Only with my own wings." The Goddess answered, "Come on! How hard could it be?"

"Why don't I like the sound of that?"

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Mana peered carefully into the control room.

At least that's what Artemis thought she was doing.

Mostly due to the fact he couldn't see her.

She'd gone invisible.

"There's around ten to fifteen of the fairies in there." Came Mana's disembodied voice beside him. "Really ugly fat fairy sitting on a throne dead center. Must be Underhill. And I think I see your girlfriend…."

"She is not my girlfriend." Artemis hissed. Why was he repeating that phrase again and again? And why was no one listening?

Matter of fact, why was that damn Demoness chuckling?

"Yeah sure." Mana snickered. Suddenly Mana appeared along the wall beside him, her face now serious. "We do have an issue though. Underhill is definitely in possession of Demon powers."

"How is that a problem? You are a Demon."

Mana's eyes narrowed.

"The question is how much power he has." Mana snapped. "I don't feel like being surprised."

Artemis thought for a moment.

"How much power does it take to possess someone?" he asked.

Mana shrugged. "Depends on the person's will."

"Underhill has most of the population of Haven under his control." Artemis continued, "As well as the fairies here. With the effects of the gas lowering the will of the fairies, how much power has he got left?"

Mana frowned. "To influence that many, he'd need to use quite a bit of power."

"So if you attacked him directly?"

A smile began to appear on Mana's face. "He'd need to defend himself. And with him distracted, he'd begin to lose control of them."

Artemis nodded. "And while you are providing the diversion, I'll go to the main terminal in there and see about locating those bombs."

"Let's get this party underway then shall we?" Mana said as she slowly faded from sight.

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Holly stood silently in the center of the control room while Underhill called out orders to the pixie that had brought her here. Behind her the possessed fairies were standing with their weapons pointed at her. She wondered how she and Artemis would get out of this one.

She then mentally smacked herself as she remembered Sayoko was with them.

A chill suddenly went down her spine.

At first she thought it was because of her current situation, a prisoner of a demonically powered fairy. But then she felt a hand on her shoulder. A hand, that when she looked, was non-existent.

"Think of escaping all you want." Underhill said from his chair. "You may get out of this room, but you won't escape this facility."

'He doesn't know someone else is here.' Holly realized, 'But just who is it?'

"I'm a friend." A voice said softly into her ear. "Your boyfriend's outside."

Holly visibly went red at this comment. Why did everyone think she and Artemis were together?

"In a moment or two, all Hell is going to break loose in here." The voice continued, "When that happens, your boy is going to try and locate the bombs. Do everything you can to help him."

Holly nodded her head ever so slightly. The hand then vanished from her shoulder.

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Trance was now sitting at a terminal off to the side, carrying out the commands Underhill had just given her. As she worked, she felt a new presence in the room. She glanced back towards Underhill. The fairy was still giving out orders to the other controllers. The possessed fairies carried out their commands with their usual efficiency. The elf……

The pixie frowned.

The elf was no longer putting out a feeling of defeat. She now seemed alert and anxious, as if she was expecting something to happen.

Before Trance could give much more thought to it, one of the possessed fairies guarding the elf suddenly whipped around and unloaded their weapon into a terminal.

The terminal shattered in an explosion, sending the fairy that had been manning it flying across the room.

"Stop him!" Underhill shouted.

Several fairies started towards the guard who was still firing on the now burning terminal. Then on the other side of the room, another fairy leaped out of their chair and used it to smash the terminal she had just been entering commands into.

"STOP!" Underhill shouted, "I command you to stop!!!"

Every possessed fairy stopped moving except for the two destroying the terminals.

"No!!!" Underhill screamed, spit flying from his mouth. "Stop them from destroying the terminals!!!!"

The possessed fairies immediately began to move to stop the two. Both were quickly subdued by the others.

"Please pardon the interruption Miss……." Underhill began before his voice trailed off.

Trance looked away from the smoldering terminal to see why Underhill had stopped. It didn't take her but a moment to figure out just what was wrong.

The Elf was missing.

"How did she…..?" Underhill began before he realized what had happened.

Possessed fairies will carry out any command they are given by those that have power over them. In the sudden confusion, he hadn't been specific as to which fairies should do what. Thus when he yelled for them all to stop, then to prevent the destruction of the terminals, they had all acted. Even the ones guarding the elf.

"Find her." Underhill hissed. "She must not escape!"


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Holly and Artemis ran down the corridor away from the control room.

"How'd you do that?" Holly asked as they ran.

"Do what?" Artemis replied.

"Get those possessed fairies to turn on Underhill."

"I didn't" Artemis answered. "After you left, Mulch arrived with a Demon."

Holly stared wide eyed at the mudman.

"Another one?" she said in shock.

"This one knows Sayoko." He stated, glancing back as Holly was beginning to fall behind. As he looked back, he noticed a group of possessed fairies coming up behind them. Artemis reached out and wrapped his arm around Holly's waist, lifting her up as he began to run faster.

"HEY!!" Holly shouted, pounding her fists against Artemis' chest. "Just what do you think you're doing?!?!"

"While you haven't changed much in the last several years, I have." Artemis stated.

"SO?!?!?! It still doesn't give you the right to sweep me off my feet!!!!"

Artemis blinked and looked down at the Elf a moment. Holly noticed his look, then realized what she said. Her face went completely red.

"No…wait…I didn't mean….."

"My legs are much longer then yours are." Artemis said, ignoring Holly's sputtering. "Thus I can cover ground a lot faster then you can. Even with you in my arms." He cringed slightly as he realized what he said. Well…… too late to pull the words back now…….

Holly blushed a bit harder. "But why do we need…"

"Have you looked behind us?"

Holly frowned, then looked over her shoulder. Seeing the possessed fairies falling quickly behind them, she turned back to Artemis.

"Artemis I apologize…….."

Artemis let out a sigh of relief. At least that was one problem out of the way.

"……Thank you for sweeping me off my feet."

Artemis blinked again and looked down at the elf he was carrying under his arm. She was still quite red, but now she was smirking at him.

Artemis sighed and returned his gaze to the corridor before him.

"It was so much easier when we were on opposing sides……" he murmured.

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"Ok…. This isn't a problem."

"…..I'd really hate to find out just what you think a problem is….."

Sayoko and Mulch stood in the shuttle bay staring at the remains of the first shuttle the Goddess had attempted to fly. It now sat against the far wall, it's rear completely crushed and quite possibly fused with the wall and floor. Coolant was seeping out of the cracks and pooling on the floor.

Sayoko turned to Mulch.

"It doesn't look all that bad."

Mulch slowly turned and just stared at the goddess.

"Well it doesn't!" Sayoko shouted.

The dwarf still stared.

Sayoko frowned and looked back at the wreck.

The shuttle let out a groan before settling further onto the floor.

"Ok." Sayoko said, looking back at the dwarf. "Maybe it is bad."

"Thank Frond for safety restraints." Mulch murmured.

Sayoko pursed her lips.

"Alright!" she snapped. "Attempt number 2!"

Mulch glanced at the second shuttle with a sense of doom.

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"How much further?"

"(huff) I…(huff)….don't…(huff)…..know."

Holly frowned. "What's wrong with you? I know I'm not that heavy."

"(huff) I'm a……(huff)…genius." Artemis gasped between breaths. "Not an..(huff)…athlete."

"Still," Holly replied, "You should be in better shape then AHHHHH!"

Artemis stumbled and fell to the floor. As he fell, he twisted his body, trying to save Holly from not only the impact against the floor, but the possibility of him landing on her. The end result was Artemis taking a hard impact with the floor, followed by an elf slamming against his chest.

The two lay stunned on the floor, the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps reaching their ears.

"I'm sorry Holly." Artemis said, "Looks like I won't be sweeping you off your feet again."

Holly blushed slightly, then smiled.

"You're the only one who could do that to me." She murmured.

Artemis wrapped his arms around her as the possessed fairies ran towards them……..

…and then went completely past then further down the corridor.

The two looked off in the direction the possessed fairies had gone.

"We are here right?" Holly asked.

"Yes." Artemis answered.

"And we were in plain view yes?"

"I believe so."

"So how did they miss us?"

"Because I told them not to see you." Came a voice from beside them. "Among other things……."

Both Holly and Artemis turned just in time to see Mana appear beside them.

"You know." Mana said with a slight smirk, "This could technically be considered 'cradle robbing'."

"WHAT!?!?!?!" Holly shrieked. "That painting is a complete…."

"Not the painting Holly." Artemis interrupted as he stood up and help the elf to her feet. "She's referring to the age difference."

Holly's eyes widened further, she then turned and glared at the demon.

"I'm not even middle aged!" she hissed.

"And yet there is still seventy years between your ages." Mana replied, "Not to mention a rather significant size difference."

Holly's eyes went wide.

She didn't need Artemis to know what the demon meant by THAT comment.

"Instead of an anatomical discussion," Artemis began, his face quite flush, "We should consider getting out of here."

"Then lets go." Holly growled, still glaring at Mana. "And don't you think I'll forget this conversation."

Mana's reply was a larger smirk.

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Underhill sat silently in the now vacant control room, hands interlaced before his face as he stared at the snow fill main screen.

"You've failed." The room echoed with the voice.

"It's a minor delay." Underhill replied, "One that will be rectified."

"It had better." The voice hissed, "Or all deals are off!"

Underhill took in a deep breath before forcefully expelling it. His fist then slammed onto his chair console.

"TRANCE!!!!" he roared.

"They are heading for the shuttle bay." Came the pixie's reply to the unasked question.

Underhill rose to his feet and left the control room. For several minutes the room remained empty.

Then there was a brief flash, and it was occupied again.

By a pixie named Trance.

She gave off a slight smirk before walking to one of the control consoles. Sitting down, she began to quickly enter commands into the system.

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"I'd have expected to see more fairies along the way" Artemis commented as they approached the entrance to the shuttle bay.

"I told them all to leave." Mana replied.

"But aren't they still possessed?" Holly asked.

"Yeah." The Demoness answered, "But since Underhill has lost control of them, and I'm not really inclined to keep them under my control, they should return to normal in a few hours." She smirked as they entered the bay. "Boy I'd love to see his face when….."

Lightning flashed before them, slamming into Mana and sending her hurtling into the bay wall. Artemis and Holly both turned to see a very angry Underhill.

"You've caused me enough problems." Underhill hissed. He then turned to where Artemis and Holly were standing. "As have you mudman!" He waved his hand, sending lighting hurtling towards Artemis. The genius was sent flying across the bay and into the doors leading to the magma chute.

"ARTEMIS!!!" Holly shouted.

"My dear Miss Short." Underhill stated, "Why are you worried about that mudman? In the end, you are but a way for him to gain even further wealth and prestige."

Holly looked at Underhill confused. "What?"

"You are of average intelligence, but I'm sure even you realize that he is just using you." Underhill continued, "Just as he did when he first captured you."

Holly stared a moment, then looked to where Artemis lay unmoving.

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"Did you hear that?" Mulch asked as he poked his head into the cockpit of the shuttle.

Sayoko pulled her head out from underneath the flight console and sat up.

"Hear what?" she asked.

Before Mulch could reply, light from outside lit up his face. The light flickered, then vanished. Sayoko quickly stood up, slamming her head into the cockpit ceiling with a loud thud.

"OW!" Sayoko cried, grabbing her head. She growled a curse word in Norse, before hunching over and looking out the window.

Her eyes widened as she saw Underhill, sparks crackling from his right hand, glaring towards Holly.

"Shit!" Sayoko swore.

"Do something!" Mulch shouted.

"What?!?!" Sayoko replied, "My powers are dampened! All I can make is pretty lights!" She then spotted movement off to the side. Her eyes widened as Mana slowly rose to her feet. Mana glanced at the shuttle. Goddess and Demoness made eye contact.

"Right." Sayoko muttered. She quickly moved to the pilots seat and began entering commands.

"What are you doing?" Mulch asked.

"Since I've bypassed the security," the Goddess replied, "I'm starting this thing up."

"But what about…..?"

"Mana will take care of him." Sayoko cut him off. "Now get out there and get the damn doors open."

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"I don't understand what you're trying to….."

"You were a means to secure the wealth he needed to maintain his family's status." Underhill explained. "Each time you have met, it was for HIS benefit, not yours."

"The Demons' return says otherwise." Holly pointed out. "And we were both targeted by Koboi."

"He gained his life." Underhill replied, "And, if I'm not mistaken, He has also has an eye for fairy magic."

Holly froze. No one knew about that. She and Artemis had kept silent regarding the eye switch, as well as the fact Artemis had a bit of fairy magic. The only way that Underhill could know was if he had been told by someone or…….

Holly's eyes went wide as Underhill began to laugh.

"It's amazing what one finds just barely under the surface!" he stated. "Do you really believe that you could ever have a place in his…"

Underhill was sent flying as a bolt of energy slammed into him.

Holly whirled around to see a very angry Mana. The Demoness' markings were glowing, as were her now red eyes.

"You talk too much." She hissed before charging at the recovering fairy.

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Everything hurt.

Muscles, bones….It even hurt to think.

A part of Artemis' head informed him that it was because of the lightning he had been hit with. The electrical charge had caused all of his muscles to contract involuntarily. Pain was to be expected.

Another part of his brain told the previous part to shut the hell up.

Then his ears began to pick up sounds, muffled heavily and quite soft at first. Then he was able to understand the words being said, even though they still sounded like they were coming through several layers of blankets.

"Mudboy! Wake up!"

"Holly?" Artemis' own voice slurred slightly.

"Wrong fairy!" came the voice.

Artemis opened his eyes to see a dwarf face just inches away from him.

"Mulch…" Artemis groaned.

"Heya Mudboy!" Mulch replied with a smile.

"Could you back up a bit?" Artemis asked, "You have the most horrid breath……"

"Oh.." Mulch replied, backing away, "Musta been a few worms or…"

"I really don't need to hear it." Artemis rose to his feet. He looked back to where he had been standing previously. Flashes of light and sparks filled the air as Underhill and Mana battled back and forth.

Somewhere in the midst of that was Holly.

Artemis started towards the fight when Mulch grabbed his arm.

"Where do you think you're going?" the Dwarf asked.

"Holly needs help." Artemis replied.

"Holly can handle herself and you know it." Mulch said.

"But……." Artemis looked back to the fight.

"The Demoness won't let anything happen to her." The Dwarf answered, "Besides we need to….."

Mulch was cut off as the massive door they were standing beside began to open. The door let out a low moan as it slid slowly upward. A blast of heat and the smell of sulfur hit Artemis and Mulch as the door rose.

"Well that's a smell that's hard to forget." Artemis stated. He then turned to Mulch. "You do this?"

Mulch shook his head.

"The shuttle doesn't have controls for the door." Artemis thought out loud, "So then……who did it?"

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Trance smiled at the TV monitor in the control room.

"Open sesame." She whispered.

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The air crackled between the Demoness and Underhill as energy bolts filled the air between the two. So much electricity was filling the air that Holly felt her hair beginning to stand on end as she hid behind a crate. She needed to get out from between the two.

Quickly.

A new sound soon joined the crackling of energy as the shuttle's engines began to spool up in preparation for flight.

Holly peered from behind the crate. Underhill and the Demoness were still locked in combat, trying to overpower the other. But most of it was several feet over the floor. Not much space for a human to get under, but just enough for an elf. She waited until the energy seemed to slacken slightly, then ran for the shuttle.

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Underhill knew it was only a matter of time before he lost.

Sure, he had the powers the Demon had given him. But he only intended to use them against the other fairies.

He never expected to be facing off against a Demon.

He needed to get out of here. Soon.

Then he saw Holly burst out from her hiding spot and start towards the shuttle.

He grinned as a way out entered his mind. He turned and reached his hand out.

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"Get in the shuttle." Artemis told Mulch as he saw Holly start towards them, "We leave when Holly gets here."

Mulch nodded. Both went to get on board the shuttle when they saw Underhill hold his hand out.

Holly suddenly flew towards Underhill with a shout of surprise. Underhill immediately wrapped his arm around the elf's throat and held her tightly to his chest, keeping her between himself and the Demoness. Almost immediately the Demoness ceased her attack.

Underhill smirked.

"Odd," he said, "Demoness are supposed to care only for themselves. Yet….." he glanced down at Holly. "This one seems to mean something to you."

The Demoness' face remained frozen. Underhill then noticed Artemis, standing just outside the shuttle door with a very concerned expression on his face. He followed the Mudman's eye line and found it met with the Elf's.

"Apparently she means something to others as well." Underhill said. "Why don't I give her back!" He turned and using his demonic powers, tossed Holly towards the open bay door and towards the magma chute beyond.

Holly screamed as she flew through the air.

"HOLLY!" Artemis shouted as he raced to stop her flight. In Artemis' head, part of his brain had already calculated that given Holly's currently velocity and her estimated weight, that he would be unsuccessful in his attempt.

Another part told the first part to shut up.

Then there was the part that cried out in pain as his body took yet another blow as the female elf slammed into his chest.

The two continued to hurtle past the bay doors and out into the magma chute. Artemis kept his grip on Holly, just as she kept her grip on him. Both could see the bright glow of the magma starting to rise towards them.

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Mana was pissed.

She'd been caught of guard.

She never expected Underhill to fight dirty.

She was expecting him to act as a regular mortal. Instead, he had acted as a Demon would.

He had even run off down the corridor after tossing Holly.

At least that was what she thought from her fleeting glimpse of him. She'd turn and run after the flying Elf as fast as she could. She watched as Artemis had tried to catch Holly. He had failed to stop her, but had succeeded in slowing her flight slightly.

Slightly was all Mana needed.

Reaching out, she grabbed hold off Artemis's belt just as the two mortals began their plunge down the chute. Her free hand was just able to grab the edge of the chute wall. She let out a cry of pain as there was a violent jerk, pulling her in two directions. Looking downward, she found a pair of frightened eyes looking back at her.

"Fowl…" Mana gasped out.

"Wh-what?" Artemis replied shakily.

"We need…to discuss…a weight-loss program for …you."

Artemis didn't even bother responding to that.

"Artemis." Holly called out.

"Yeah?"

"Any ideas how we're going to get out of this one?"

Artemis looked up at the Demoness. Her face was reflecting the pain that her body was experiencing at that moment.

"I don't suppose you could teleport us out of here?"

"Sorry…" Mana gasped. "I …don't think….I could do two…… extra people at the moment." She opened her eyes. "Don't worry…..Sayoko….has our back."

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"They just went over the edge!" Mulch shouted.

"I know." Sayoko stated calmly. She grabbed the controls of the shuttle.

The shuttle lurched upward and spun about in the bay. Inside, Mulch fell backwards out of the cockpit.

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"TRANCE" Underhill called out as he entered the control room.

The pixie turned in her seat.

"Sir?"

"Are we still online?" he asked.

"Yes sir."

"Good." Underhill sat down in his chair. "Set off the bombs."

Trance blinked. "Which one?"

"All of them." Underhill growled.

"WHAT?!?!"

"You heard me." Underhill growled, rising from his chair and moving to stand beside the pixie.

"But sir!" Trance protested, "We can't….."

"If you won't," Underhill snapped, pushing the pixie aside. "I'll do it."

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Mana winced as the shuttle roared just over her head, sending engine wash over her and the two below her. The wash pushed Artemis and Holly downward, causing even more strain on the demoness' body.

The shuttle dropped down the chute and below the three. The side hatch then opened and Mulch peered out.

"You all going to just hang out there all day?"

"Not funny!" Holly snapped back.

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Underhill smiled as he stared at the main screen before him. It was broken up with several dozen live views of various mudmen cities, all containing a bomb placed by his fairies troops……..before he lost control of them.

His hand reached out towards the control panel. With a slight sigh, his finger depress a button.

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Artemis gently lowered Mana into one of the chair in the back of the shuttle. Holly watched for a moment, before starting towards the cockpit, intending to take over the controls when a low deep rumble reached her sensitive ears. She turned slowly and noticed that Mulch looking at her curiously.

"Do you hear that?" he asked.

Holly nodded. "Is that you?"

"No."

"What did you hear?" Artemis asked.

"Still hearing it." Holly answered.

Suddenly the shuttle jerked violently to the side, sending everyone in the cabin tumbling about.

"Sayoko!" Mana shouted.

"Not my fault!" Sayoko shouted from the cockpit.

"Then whose is it?!?!"

The shuttle jerked again.

"I'm getting weird turbulence." Sayoko hollered.

"Turbulence in a magma chute?" Mulch asked.

Holly's eyes suddenly went wide.

"Da'rvit!" she swore.

"What?" Mulch asked looking at her curiously.

"SAYOKO!" Holly shouted, "Get us out of here YESTERDAY!"

The sound of the engines now joined the low rumbling noise.

"I know I'll regret asking," Sayoko called back, "But why the sudden urgency?"

"There's only one thing that can cause turbulence in a magma chute." Holly replied.

"Magma." Artemis answered.

"Bingo mud boy."

"I knew I'd regret asking." Sayoko muttered.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"Nuclear Detonation!"

Every God and Goddess present in the Yggdrasil Control room snapped their heads around and stared at Chrono.

Peorth leaped from the SysOp chair and moved just behind the Admin.

"What city?" she asked.

Chrono shook her head. "It isn't a city."

"Then where?"

Chrono typed at her terminal. The main screen flicked and highlighted an area in southeast China.

"The epicenter of the blast is deep beneath the surface." She stated.

Peorth stared at the main screen.

"A test?"

The Admin shook her head. "Too deep."

"What kind of effect will this have on the surface?" she asked.

"Earthquakes." Chrono answered, "And a rather spectacular volcanic eruption."

A thought then hit Peorth.

"What about underground?"

Chrono turned and looked at Peorth.

"Absolute devastation."

--

Underhill gripped a nearby chair as the entire room rocked.

"What was that?" he called out.

"Fool!" Trance hissed, "I tried to warn you."

Underhill glared at the pixie.

"How dare you…" He began as he rose from his chair.

The pixie raised her left hand quickly. Underhill grunted as an invisible force slammed him back down into his chair. The force continued to press into the fairy, effectively trapping him in his chair. Underhill tried to break free using his demon powers, but found that not even they could disrupt the powerful force holding him.

"What is this?!" he shouted, glaring at Trance.

When the pixie replied, it was in a tone that sent a chill down Underhill's spine.

"I was willing to allow the destruction of dozens of cities." She stated, "But what you planned would have eventually brought about the destruction of the entire mortal race." She smirked. "And they are simply too much fun."

"What are you?" Underhill's voice was barely a whisper.

Trance's smirk grew into a toothy grin, allowing Underhill to see something he'd never seen on a pixie before.

Fangs.

"Complicated." The pixie answered before vanishing in a flash of flames

Underhill stared blankly around the now empty control room.

He was still there when the magma flowed in.

--

"Must go faster!"

"I've got the throttle wide open! We can't go any faster!"

"The Magma is catching up!"

"Maybe you should get out and push."

"Oh ha ha." Mana looked from Sayoko to Artemis. "Think we'll make it?"

Artemis raised an eyebrow.

"Well," he began, "barring any unforeseen events, at our current velocity, the magma should reach us just as we are safely clearing the chute."

Holly, Mulch, and Mana slowly turned to face Artemis.

"That's cutting it a bit close Mudboy." Mulch said, "Ya think we could maybe stretch that out a bit?"

"I have a head for numbers." The genius replied. "We're perfectly fine."

A loud bang then echoed throughout the cabin.

"What was that?" Mana asked.

"Holly?" Sayoko's voice trembled slightly, "Get over here. Now."

Holly was on her feet in seconds heading towards the cockpit. There she looked over the goddess' shoulder at the displays. Her face went pale as she saw several of them slowly counting down. Only one was counting up. The temperature gauge.

"Is it as bad as I'm reading." Sayoko murmured, her eyes not leaving the display.

"Worse." Holly replied. She then turned and looked back at the others.

"We're not going to make it."

--

"Well that was a waste of a perfectly good mortal."

'Trance' barely lifted her head at the voice. She was still staring at the floating image of Underhill's burning corpse.

Flames flared before her. When they vanished, they left behind a very annoyed Demon.

"Well?" he growled, "Haven't you got anything to say?"

"Yeah." The pixie answered, "I do."

The Demon suddenly found himself on his back, the pixie's boot planted firmly on his chest. His surprise soon turned to horror as the pixie's body phased slightly and changed into the form of a brown haired Demoness. One that was all well too known to him.

"Milady….." the Demon whimpered, "If I had known you had returned……."

"Shut it Draco." The Soultaker hissed. "No one….not even my 'dear' sister knows I am back." Her boot pressed harder into the Demon's chest. "And it will remain so!"

Draco swallowed. "Yes Milady."

The Soultaker pressed her foot even harder into the Demon's chest before releasing him. "Get out of my sight."

Draco immediately vanished.

The Soultaker smirked, then looked off to the distance. She then pulled a small orb from her pocket.

"I almost forgot." She said to herself, before smashing the orb to the ground. The orb shattered and flashed white before vanishing completely.

--

Sayoko stared blankly at the displays before her. The engines were still running, but no longer at full power. They were quickly losing the race to the surface to the magma.

Behind her, Mana was concentrating, trying to get past the pain she was in to summon up enough strength to teleport them out, no matter how dangerous it was. Mulch was in a corner, muttering quietly to himself. Artemis and Holly were quietly talking, apparently saying their good-byes if she was hearing them correctly. She could just feel the sorrow and love pouring off….

The Goddess' eyes went wide.

She could feel them!

Reaching out, she could feel Mulch as well, even the darkness that Mana was putting off as she built up her powers.

Her Goddess powers were back.

Without a second thought, she flew out of the pilot's chair and ran towards the others.

"Mana!" she shouted, "Your sword handy?"

The others all blinked and stared at the Goddess.

"Yes." Mana replied, holding it out, "Why?"

--

Tokyo-2

The Morisato apartment.

Keiichi Morisato sat in his recliner chair, staring blankly at the TV as he surfed from channel to channel. Every channel was the same, the eruption of a volcano in China, along with highlights of the destruction of St Petersburg. Keiichi sighed. He understood that it was big news, but at some point he needed a break from the doom and gloom. After Second Impact it had been months before the TV had finally gotten back to normal programming. He'd almost gone crazy. He'd actually hope Mara would come along just for something else to do.

At that point a loud crash came from the bathroom, followed by several moans and groans.

"I DIDN'T MEAN IT!!" Keiichi shouted towards the ceiling.

"Get your foot out of my face." Came a female voice.

"Get your butt out of mine." Came another female voice.

"Hey Mudboy!" came a male voice, "How's it feel to be swamped by women?"

"Mulch……I will hurt you." Came a second male voice.

"And I'll help!" added the first female.

Keiichi slowly rose to his feet and moved towards the bathroom. Along the way he paused at the closet to pick up Skuld's spare mallet.

The sight that met his eyes upon reaching the bathroom caused him to drop the mallet with a loud thud. There in the bathroom, tangled together as if they had been playing a game of twister, were five people, though he wasn't quite sure about two of them. Buried somewhere around the middle of the pile was his daughter.

Sayoko lifted her head at the sound of the thud and found herself staring up at her father.

"Hi Daddy." She said as sweetly as she could.

Keiichi sighed.

"No one uses doors anymore……."

--

UN Base

Tokyo-2

Japan

The NORN facility.

Several hours later everyone had gathered in Misato's office, save for Holly, Artemis, and Juliet.

"The Council says that everyone has returned to normal." Trouble stated, "Confused, but unharmed."

"What about Underhill?" Holly asked.

Foaly shrugged. "All the scans directed at the base show nothing but solid rock. Nothing could have survived it."

"What about the nukes?" Misato asked, "We need to make sure they stay out of the wrong hands."

"They are also encased in rock." Foaly answered, "It's unlikely that they survived the magma."

"Could the demon have made it?" Belldandy asked.

Mana had yet to looked at Belldandy directly. Though comfortable around Sayoko and her Aunt Skuld, there was something about her friend's mother that unnerved her.

"It is possible that the Demon left before the magma filled the base." She answered, "But as we still don't know what demon it was….."

"…and will probably never know." Sayoko added.

Mana nodded. "There's too much chaos right now in Hell."

Misato nodded. "Wonder what kind of a spin will be put on this one."

"Mortal's tend to rationalize what they can," Belldandy explained, "and forget what they can't."

"And if they don't…" Foaly added with a grin, "We have ways of making them forget." He then began to chuckle.

The Centaur received an odd look from everyone, and several people moved a bit further away from him.

"Where is Fowl, Short, and Butler by the way." Misato asked, "I would have thought that they would be the most interested in this."

Trouble, Foaly, and Mulch all glanced at each other.

"They've met few times over the years." Foaly finally said, "Each time they do…..seems like it takes longer for them to say good bye."

"We might be here awhile." Mulch added.

--

Juliet watched as on the opposite side of the roof, her charge talked to the elf. It was rather odd seeing the two acting like teenagers. Juliet chuckled. Artemis never really had acted like one, and Holly was already in her eighties when they'd first met.

Juliet sighed.

That was probably why they were acting like this. A human and a fairy…..it would probably never work.

"It's no different then a mortal and a goddess."

Juliet jumped and whirled about. Somehow Sayoko and Mana had appeared behind her.

Some bodyguard she was……….

"Must you read my mind?" Juliet asked Sayoko.

Sayoko's eyes widened, while Mana chuckled.

"She didn't read your mind." The Demoness laughed.

"Then how did she…."

"You were speaking out loud."

"Oh…" Juliet cringed, then looked apologetically at the Goddess. "Sorry…."

Sayoko smiled and waved her off.

"Don't worry about it." She then looked to where Holly and Artemis were standing. "A human and a fairy….. it could work. Probably better then a mortal and goddess."

"No demons interfering eh?" Mana asked.

"That would be a plus……"

"But….."The Demoness had a very evil grin on her face, "sex would be a bit of a stretch…."

Juliet's eye began to twitch while Sayoko's head sank into her hands.

"Of all the mentally disturbing images to have……" the goddess muttered.

"Poor Holly……" Juliet murmured.

"OK…" Sayoko groaned, "Images just got worse……" She glared at her friend. "Sick perverted demon….."

"Just pointing out the obvious." Mana explained.

"As disturbing as the idea of Artemis and Holly…" Juliet shuddered slightly…Artemis' pasty white…gah! "She does have a point." She looked to where the two in question were talking. "Even if they were to take a chance, he's still a human and she's still a fairy. That will look odd when they go out on a date." She looked back at the goddess.

Sayoko was looking towards Artemis and Holly with a thoughtful expression. She then turned and glanced at Mana.

"I think I have an idea."

--

Artemis looked off towards the Tokyo-2 skyline.

"So back to Haven?" he asked.

"Yeah." Holly replied, though she didn't sound very positive about it. "From what Foaly said it's pretty much a disaster area. Figured I see what was left of my apartment."

Artemis nodded. "If you need anything……even to just get away….."

Holly smiled, then placed her small hand on his larger one. "I know."

"Ohhh I'm going to be sick…."

Artemis and Holly whirled about to see Mana and Sayoko walking up to them with Juliet just behind. Mana was making fake gagging noises. Sayoko smacked the demoness' shoulder, then looked at the two.

"Ignore her." Sayoko said. "We actually wanted to speak with you."

"Underhill survived?" Holly asked.

"No."

"Then what?"

Sayoko kicked at the roof a moment.

"See," she began, "I feel I owe you. Not only for saving me down there, but also from when I was little."

"Your Aunt already thanked us." Artemis pointed out.

"Yeah," Sayoko replied, "But this is something from me."

"Ahem…"

"And Mana."

"What is it?" Holly asked.

Sayoko looked at the two.

"I know you two like each other."

Holly and Artemis went red.

"Ahem."

Sayoko turned and glared at Mana a moment, then looked back at the blushing two.

"Alright. You more then like each other." She said, "But the whole fairy/human thing is holding you back."

"So…" Mana said, "We're going to curse you."

"WHAT!?" Artemis and Holly both shouted.

"Well…curse Holly." Sayoko explained.

"WHAT!?" Holly shouted.

Sayoko turned to the elf.

"You've got magic and should be more then capable of dealing with what we're planning."

"And that is?" Artemis asked.

"We're going to curse Holly into a human." Mana stated.

As Holly's eyes went wide.

"I'll be a mud person?"

"It's not a permanent curse." Sayoko quickly said, "You will have the ability to change between a human and fairy at will. And yet, even as a human, you will still be able to access your magic."

"What about the rules in 'The Book'?" Artemis asked, "She'd be stripped of her powers and shunned if…."

"Those rules are going to be bent and twisted." Mana said, "Basically, the book is being tossed away, metaphorically speaking."

"And if things between you two don't work out…." Sayoko began before being interrupted.

"What makes you think that?!" Artemis and Holly both said before glancing at each other and blushing as they just as quickly looked away.

Sayoko only smiled. "I rest my case. If things don't work out, Holly can still return to Haven." Her face then became serious. "It's your decision though Holly. We won't force this on you if you don't want it."

--

Holly stared blankly at the Goddess, her mind racing.

Could she do this? Sayoko said it wouldn't affect her status as one of the people. She'd be able to travel freely in both worlds. It would be easier when she had to travel to the surface on missions. She could blend in…..do things that she couldn't have done as a fairy. Spend more time with Art…..

Holly turned to Artemis.

He'd been a criminal when they'd first met. By the end of their second meeting they had been friends. After their fourth, it was something more. And it had grown since.

Now he was staring at her.

A genius that knew all the answers was waiting for one from her.

Now just what would it be?"

--

Later that night

Sayoko, Mana, and Rei were all in the Goddess' bedroom, sitting on the bed.

Rei listened as the other two told her of the events of the past few days.

"So you gave her a choice?" Rei asked when they had finished.

"Yep." Sayoko replied, fiddling with her pillowcase.

"What did she choose?"

"Does it matter?"

"YES!" Rei shouted, before cringing when she realized how loud she'd been.

Mana waved her hand. "Don't worry. Yoko's mom put up a silencing spell."

"Oh. Soooooo?

"What?"

"WHAT DID SHE CHOOSE?!"

--

Fowl Manor, Ireland

Butler barely looked up from the newspaper as he heard the Rolls pull up to the house. He'd heard it enough times to know it was the Artemis' limo. There was even the telltale sound of Juliet grinding the gears as she put it into park. Some things just never changed.

His ears then picked up the sound of the car doors opening, followed by the sounds of three sets of footsteps.

Three?

The paper was quickly forgotten as Butler pulled his pistol out from under the table and took aim towards the door. The sound of a key sliding into the lock was heard, followed by a click as the lock was undone. Butler watched as the knob turned and the door opened.

Standing just outside the door with her own weapon drawn was Juliet.

"Juliet." Butler stated.

"Dom." Juliet replied. "Is there a reason for the gun?"

"Should there be?"

"Unless I forgot to refill the cookie jar, which I know I did, or leave a note, which is still on the fridge……."

Butler sighed and set his weapon on the table next to the discarded newspaper.

"Well don't put it down." Juliet grumbled as she walked through the doorway. "You need to look all threatening."

"Why?" Butler asked.

Juliet pointed back towards the door.

"Because they won't stop!"

Butler frowned and looked back towards the door. Artemis had now entered the kitchen, followed by a young, auburn haired woman who looked oddly familiar. Both were smiling at Butler.

"Butler." Artemis said, nodding his head slightly.

"Hey Butler." The woman called out.

Butler's eyes narrowed. The voice was very familiar. The last time he had heard it was…….

The old bodyguard sat upright.

"Holly?" he asked, stunned.

A very human looking Holly Short smiled as she wrapped her arms around Artemis.

"She followed us home." Artemis stated. He then smirked. "Can we keep her?"


End file.
